A Deeper Look at the Small Bowel: Training Pathways in Video Capsule Endoscopy and Device-Assisted Enteroscopy

Although there are guidelines for video capsule endoscopy (VCE) and device-assisted enteroscopy (DAE), little is known about fellowship training in these technologies.

The aims were to better characterize current small bowel endoscopy training in 3-year GI fellowship programs and 4th-year advanced endoscopy programs in the U.S.

We developed an online multiple-choice survey to assess current GI fellowship program training in small bowel endoscopy. The survey was distributed via email to GI fellowship program directors in the U.S.

Of the 168 program directors contacted, 59 responded (response rate = 35.1%). There was no statistically significant difference in the availability of VCE or DAE between respondents and non-respondents. VCE training was universally available in 3-year training programs, with 84.8% (50/59) requiring it for fellows. The majority of 3-year GI fellows graduated with independence in VCE: 83.1% (49/59) of programs reported "most" or "all" graduates were able to read independently. DAE techniques were available in 86.4% of training programs (51/59). Training in DAE was more limited and shared between 3-year and 4th-year programs: 12.1% (7/58) of 3-year programs required training in DAE and 22.9% (8/35) of 4th-year programs required training in DAE .

Training in VCE is widely available in U.S. GI fellowship programs, although programs have different ways of incorporating this training into the curriculum and of measuring competency. While DAE technology was available in the majority of programs, training was less frequently available, and training is shared between 3-year fellowship programs and 4th-year advanced endoscopy programs .