Quality in endoscopy training

Abstract

Over the last 50 years, endoscopy technology and its clinical application has improved enormously. Endoscopy now provides a wide variety of non-invasive treatments, and it prevents upper and lower gastrointestinal cancer. Performing high-quality endoscopy requires a complex blend of cognitive, technical and non-technical skills. For an individual to acquire these skills requires high-quality training. Unfortunately, the development of training has lagged the advances in technology, resulting in unwarranted variation in the effectiveness of the technology. This chapter argues that to enable a more uniform high-quality endoscopic service, the solution is to improve endoscopy training. It describes what constitutes high-quality training, how new methods of training will improve the traditional training pathway and what can be done to transform endoscopy training.