OBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF COMPETENCE - TECHNICAL SKILLS IN GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY

Documentation of an individual trainee's competence in gastrointestina l endoscopy has relied on the opinion of supervisors. Recommendations about the minimum number of procedures required to attain technical co mpetence has relied on expert opinion. Recently, objective data about procedural competence have been collected. These data suggest that the mean number of procecures required to approach technical competence i s higher than that recommended by experts. The data can be used to giv e a more accurate and objective evaluation of each trainee, as well as to develop objective guidelines about the minimum number of procedure s to be accomplished during training. In addition, objective grading s ystems can be applied to other surgical and nonsurgical procedures.