P355 Immersion blocks in early gastroscopy training improve technical skill acquisition in novice trainees – regional multicentre training academy results

Introduction

UK endoscopy training faces challenges from increasing service pressure and changes to specialty training curricula.¹ Endoscopy training academies are a potential solution and in the North East and North Cumbria, a multicentre immersion training model was established in September 2022. Novice gastroscopy trainees will attend a 4-week block of 20 dedicated training lists at one of four immersion centres, in addition to regular training at base hospital site.

Methods

The JETS eportfolio KPI and DOPS data of novice gastroscopy trainees were compared between 3 historical trainees receiving weekly dedicated training lists (DTLs) plus other ad hoc training, and 4 trainees undergoing an immersion block in the first 20 weeks of gastroscopy training plus typical weekly DTLs and other ad hoc. For each trainee, five 4-weekly PDF summaries were taken from their eportfolios from the start of their endoscopy training to give a summary of their KPIs over 20 weeks. The 4-week period was chosen to allow for immersion block effect.

Results

Higher procedure volumes were seen in the immersion group (table 1) and this was associated with shorter time to achieve minimum D2 intubation and unassisted procedure rates. DOPS competence for independent practice was similar at each interval for both groups.

Conclusion

Early immersion training can lead to earlier acquisition of minimum KPI requirements for certification, compared to historical controls. Similar rates of DOPS assessed competence aligns with previous studies indicating that procedure competence should incorporate ENTS and pathology recognition.² This was a small sample but indicates the potential of this model accelerate skill acquisition and reduce time to certification. Further work is required to expand this intervention to surgical and clinical endoscopists and incorporate ENTS and pathology recognition into the programme.

References

FitzPatrick M, et al. How can gastroenterology training thrive in a post-COVID world? Frontline Gastroenterology 2020;0:1–4. doi:10.1136/flgastro-2020-101601 Ward ST, Hancox A, Mohammed MA, et al. The learning curve to achieve satisfactory completion rates in upper GI endoscopy: an analysis of a national training database. Gut 2017;66:1022–1030.