Surgical residents' perceptions on learning gastrointestinal endoscopy: more hours and more standardization wanted

Abstract

Objective: Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a complex task that involves an interaction of cognitive and manual skills. There is no consensus on the optimal way to teach endoscopy. We sought to evaluate our formal endoscopy curriculum for general surgery trainees to improve the effectiveness and quality of the endoscopy teaching in this program.

Design: We conducted focus group sessions over a 2-year period. Participants were general surgery residents, who are at the end of their endoscopy training rotation. The goal was to obtain the opinions and perceptions of trainees actively involved in learning endoscopy.

Setting: University-based general surgery residency.

Participants: Second-year general surgery residents.

Results: A total of 24 residents participated in 7 focus group sessions over 2 years. Four central themes emerged that included training structure and expectations, development of endoscopy competence, teaching approaches and teaching tools, and recommendations for improvement of the training experience.

Conclusions: An assessment of the themes led to the following concrete suggestions for improvement: the development of an algorithmic approach to endoscopy for the novice learner, consideration to introduce additional experience in endoscopy later in the 5-year surgery program, and consideration to incorporate a train-the-trainer curriculum for faculty that teach endoscopy.

Keywords: Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Medical Knowledge; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Professionalism; endoscopy; gastrointestinal/education; general surgery/education; surgical trainee perceptions.