The American Board of Surgery is the latest professional organization to acknowledge the importance of surgical endoscopy, General Surgery News reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. Starting in 2018, surgical residents will have to pass the Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery exam, and for New York City-based NYU Langone School of Medicine Professor of Surgery Paresh Shah, MD, that additional training is a good thing.
"It's an old adage that general surgeons started endoscopy and gave it up to gastroenterologists," Dr. Shah said to General Surgery News. "Unfortunately, that's true, but we're changing that and we need to be aggressive about it."
2. Dr. Shah said endoscopy can expand and enhance surgical skills throughout a career. He said general surgeons were pivotal in the development of advanced endoscopic interventions.
3. Dr. Shah recommends surgeons looking to hone their skills start with intraoperative assessment. He also recommends surgeons consider involving an endoscope in every case.
4. Finally, Dr. Shah recommends surgeons reach out to gastroenterologists to help build on their skill set. He said, "Most of them have more experience than you with the most advanced procedures."