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designed for fellows to ensure that a broad spectrum of endoscopic findings is experienced.

      Assessment of pathology recognition skills is relatively simple. The most common method is from instructors getting a sense of the fellow's ability to identify pathology during live cases, yet the results of such assessment is rarely recorded in any manner. Formal objective assessments (written tests) can also be developed where images or videos can be presented to trainees at various stages of their training. The trainees can then be graded based on how quickly or accurately they can identify what is depicted. Results of such testing can be used to document the progression toward cognitive competence and could also lead to earlier identification of deficiencies and timely remediation in some cases [35].

      In addition to pathology recognition, the intermediate cognitive skills include the ability to make appropriate management decisions during endoscopy (such as what requires therapy, what devices to use, and what settings to use). This requires a broad fund of knowledge gained from bedside teaching, self‐directed learning by reading texts, and supplementary study aids. One such supplement is the GI endoscopy self‐assessment program (GESAP) developed by the ASGE. This resource is a computer‐based program that provides board‐exam‐type questions with endoscopic images focusing on both diagnostic and therapeutic decision skills. Software such as this can not only provide more repetition with seeing endoscopic pathology but also challenges a trainee's decision‐making abilities. More importantly, the program provides instant feedback with explanations of the correct answers that can be used for self‐assessment and study purposes. At the bedside, these skills will be honed as a trainee's experience with different pathology grows.

      The assessment of decision‐making skills is also relatively straightforward. The most common method is again an informal assessment during patient‐based training as instructors take a trainee through the thought process regarding management of specific findings. This “Socratic” teaching method with an actual case is not only one of the most effective teaching methods but is also a very effective form of formative assessment that imparts to the instructor a sense of what the fellow knows and how they come to their management decisions. As a result, feedback on errors in reasoning can be corrected on the spot. Assessment of this requires follow‐up to ensure that the same errors in reasoning have been corrected. To accomplish this, a more formal and reproducible means of assessment is needed. Assessment must be an ongoing process that requires a means to record and evaluate progress in a trainee's skills. A standardized skill assessment form can be used. An assessment tool of this type should ideally be completed by staff during each case and measures a broad spectrum of both cognitive and motor skills, including the knowledgeable selection of device and settings based on pathology encountered. More will be discussed about how to employ this type of ongoing assessment later in this chapter.

      Intermediate motor skills

      Most trainees should be secure with the basic motor skills relatively quickly (roughly the first 30–50 colonoscopies). After that, the long process of mastering the intermediate skills becomes the next hurdle toward competence. These skills of navigating acute turns and managing loops are the most difficult skills for trainees to acquire. The nuances of these skills require a heightened awareness and understanding between what the eyes are seeing and what the right hand is feeling in respect to the degree of resistance, effectiveness of torquing, and fixation of the colon. It is also often difficult for staff to know how to advise on the management a specific difficult turn or loop without taking the scope personally to get a sense of how things “feel.” This makes teaching these skills difficult. More often than not, staff will simply take over the scope and advance the scope past the area of difficulty and then return the scope to the trainee with little explanation of exactly how this was accomplished. In order for fellows to grasp these nuances, a keen understanding of what is going on three‐dimensionally with the scope and loops of colon are key. Multimedia video can be of utility so that conceptually trainees can understand in general how loops develop, how different maneuvers can be used to open up turns, and how force vectors can be affected by these different techniques. Simulation can also help trainees practice some of these techniques and begin to get a sense of how these situations “feel.” Ex vivo models come close to mimicking the elasticity and feel of live tissue; however, nothing thus far can completely replace actual practice during live endoscopy [36]. For advanced endoscopic motor skills such as hemostasis techniques, training with ex vivo models have been shown to translate to improved patient‐based hemostasis skills and improved outcomes [37]. More will be discussed on this elsewhere in this text.

      A less common but much more effective teaching device is the use of an external scope locating device such as ScopeGuide^® (Olympus, Center Valley, PA) [38]. This device can create real‐time visual image of how the scope is looped or positioned in an actual human colon during live cases. It does so by using a magnetic field to passively detect special markers along the length of a scope (or along a special cable in a regular scope's biopsy channel). The real‐time images allow the fellow to correlate what is being felt and seen with what is actually happening inside the patient. It can also show the effectiveness of reduction maneuvers. Despite the usefulness of such a device, these are rarely used due to cost, availability in the United States, and limited awareness of such tools. Instead, most trainees gain a sense of what is occurring inside the patient simply with greater and greater volumes of experience during patient training.

Assessment of these motor skills can be achieved by a number of means. Spot checks of these skills can be accomplished using ex vivo simulation models where a set of tasks need to be performed satisfactorily and are graded in a standardized method. These types of exams are referred to as objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) and are frequently used in surgical training [39–41]. The ideal model for this would be a bovine ex vivo colon model (Figure 6.34) (Videos 6.11 and 6.12) . This model has been validated as a tool for assessment of competence in intermediate colonoscopy skills [34]. It has some distinct advantages over computer simulation in that the anatomy can be made as easy or difficult as desired based on the skill level of the user. Additionally, real endoscopes and therapeutic devices are used as opposed to the simulated tools used with computer simulators. This advantage can also be a major disadvantage, as the need for endoscopy equipment and laboratory space dedicated to animal training are not available at most institutions. Two alternative options to setting up a dedicated laboratory would be to utilize regional training centers such as the ASGE's animal laboratories or to bring in a group that will set up a temporary ex vivo training laboratory. Regardless of the method used, OSCE exams in general are costly from the respect of time to set up and personnel to precept exams. As such, OSCEs are best used as a summative type of exam (for a grade or for some form of certifying exam). For most centers, however, the assessment of these intermediate motor skills will still simply take place in the endoscopy suites during clinical cases. It should be stressed that this bedside assessment should incorporate objective measures that are recorded using a form such as the standardized assessment tool as discussed below. This assessment method is cheap, efficient, and can provide continuous monitoring of both cognitive and motor skills during fellows' progress through training. This can be performed with every procedure, which provides the most accurate assessment of a trainee's progress or on a periodic basis such as monthly or alternatively during every 25th or 50th colonoscopy.

Figure 6.34 An endoscopist practices on an ex vivo bovine colon model.

For terminal ileum intubation skills, there really is no substitute for patient‐based experience. Computer and ex vivo animal models do not recreate the valve adequately to be effective either for learning or for assessing this skill. Instead, practice of valve intubation with every colonoscopy should be encouraged during training.

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