Abstract
Purpose
To ensure the safe spread of pediatric endoscopic surgery, it is essential to build a training curriculum, and a survey of the current situation in Japan is necessary. The present study assessed an efficient training curriculum by clarifying instructor class pediatric surgeons’ experiences, including autonomy when performing advanced endoscopic surgeries.
Methods
An online nationwide questionnaire survey was conducted among pediatric surgeons who had Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification (ESSQ) and board-certified instructors who had skills comparable to ESSQ. We assessed participants’ training experience, opinions concerning the ideal training curriculum, and the correlation between surgical experience and the level of autonomy. The Zwisch scale was used to assess autonomy.
Results
Fifty-two participants responded to the survey (response rate: 86.7%). Only 57.7% of the respondents felt that they had received sufficient endoscopic surgery training. Most respondents considered an educational curriculum for endoscopic surgery including off-the-job training essential during the training period. Autonomy had been acquired after experiencing two to three cases for most advanced endoscopic surgeries.
Conclusion
This first nationwide survey in Japan showed that instructor class pediatric surgeons acquired autonomy after experiencing two to three for most advanced endoscopic surgeries. Our findings suggest that training, especially off-the-job training, has been insufficient.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery Educational Committee for cooperating with this national survey. We also thank Mr. Brain Quinn for his comments and help with the manuscript.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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M.M. wrote the main manuscript text and prepared all figures and tables. S.I. and Y.K. supervised the writing of the manuscript. M.M., S.I. and Y.K. designed the study. S.O., K.Y., K.O., S.Y., G.M., T.I., H.K., H.U., A.Y. and H.O. performed survey and acquisition of data. M.M. performed analysis of data. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Murakami, M., Onishi, S., Yamada, K. et al. How many cases do instructor class pediatric surgeons need to experience to be an independent operator in performing advanced endoscopic surgery? A nationwide survey to establish an ideal curriculum for pediatric endoscopic surgery in Japan. Pediatr Surg Int 39, 271 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-023-05550-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-023-05550-7