• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Who is SAGES?
    • SAGES Mission Statement
    • Advocacy
    • Strategic Plan, 2020-2023
    • Committees
      • Request to Join a SAGES Committee
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Full Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
    • Donate to the SAGES Foundation
    • SAGES Store
    • Awards
      • George Berci Award
      • Pioneer in Surgical Endoscopy
      • Excellence In Clinical Care
      • International Ambassador
      • IRCAD Visiting Fellowship
      • Social Justice and Health Equity
      • Excellence in Community Surgery
      • Distinguished Service
      • Early Career Researcher
      • Researcher in Training
      • Jeff Ponsky Master Educator
      • Excellence in Medical Leadership
      • Barbara Berci Memorial Award
      • Brandeis Scholarship
      • Advocacy Summit
      • RAFT Annual Meeting Abstract Contest and Awards
    • “Unofficial” Logo Products
  • Meetings
    • NBT Innovation Weekend
    • SAGES Annual Meeting
      • 2024 Scientific Session Call For Abstracts
      • 2024 Emerging Technology Call For Abstracts
    • CME Claim Form
    • Industry
      • Advertising Opportunities
      • Exhibit Opportunities
      • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Future Meetings
    • Related Meetings Calendar
  • Join SAGES!
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Applications
      • Active Membership
      • Affiliate Membership
      • Associate Active Membership
      • Candidate Membership
      • International Membership
      • Medical Student Membership
    • Member News
      • Member Spotlight
      • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find a SAGES Member
  • Publications
    • SAGES Stories Podcast
    • SAGES Clinical / Practice / Training Guidelines, Statements, and Standards of Practice
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • SCOPE – The SAGES Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Annoucements
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • Wellness Resources – You Are Not Alone
    • OpiVoid.org
    • SAGES.TV Video Library
    • Safe Cholecystectomy Program
      • Safe Cholecystectomy Didactic Modules
    • Masters Program
      • SAGES Facebook Program Collaboratives
      • Acute Care Surgery
      • Bariatric
      • Biliary
      • Colorectal
      • Flexible Endoscopy (upper or lower)
      • Foregut
      • Hernia
      • Robotics
    • Educational Opportunities
    • HPB/Solid Organ Program
    • Courses for Residents
      • Advanced Courses
      • Basic Courses
    • Fellows Career Development Course
    • Robotics Fellows Course
    • MIS Fellows Course
    • Facebook Livestreams
    • Free Webinars For Residents
    • SMART Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video
    • SAGES Top 21 MIS Procedures
    • SAGES Pearls
    • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
    • SAGES Tips & Tricks of the Top 21
  • Opportunities
    • NEW-Area of Concentrated Training Seal (ACT)-Advanced Flexible Endoscopy
    • SAGES Fellowship Certification for Advanced GI MIS and Comprehensive Flexible Endoscopy
    • Multi-Society Foregut Fellowship Certification
    • SAGES Research Opportunities
    • Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery
    • Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery
    • Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy
    • Job Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
  • Search
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
  • OWLS
  • Log In

Analysis of the Initial Psychometric Performance of the Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) Skills Examination.

Matthew Lineberry, PhD1, E Matthew Ritter, MD2. 1Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning, University of Kansas Medical Center and Hospital, Kansas City, KS, 2Uniformed Services University/Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery & National Capital Region Simulation Consortium, Bethesda MD

Introduction: The Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) certification program became part of the American Board of Surgery’s required Flexible Endoscopy Curriculum in 2014. The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of the FES manual skills examination during its initial offering.

Methods: De-identified data from the initial FES skills examination was reviewed and 346 unique participants were identified. Each FES task was evaluated for difficulty and internal consistency. The effects of simulator used, physical factors, clinical experience, and upper endoscopy (UE) and lower endoscopy (LE) experience on pass rates and task performance were examined.

Results: Scores on each task were distributed skew-normally except for Loop Reduction, with a large mode at 0 points. Tasks’ score distributions differed significantly (p < .001), ordering tasks from easiest to most difficult as Tool Targeting, Retroflexion, Navigation, Mucosal Inspection, and Loop Reduction. Correlations between each task and the average of the other tasks ranged from 0.27-0.54, suggesting considerable task specificity, especially for Loop Reduction and Mucosal Inspection. Pass rates were not statistically discernible for Mentor Express vs. GI Mentor but showed an effect size that may be practically significant (83% vs. 75%; c2 = 2.68, p = 0.10). Median scores varied by degree of experience (p < .01); post-hoc tests show fellows with higher scores than PGY5s but no other discernible differences. For both Navigation and Mucosal Inspection, scores varied by LE experience but not UE experience (p < .05); post-hoc analyses revealed that those with the most experience did not necessarily have the highest scores. For Tool Targeting, neither UE nor LE experience predicted scores. Analyses of the effects of experience on Loop Reduction and Retroflexion showed discernible differences by UE experience for both, but differences by LE experience only for Retroflexion. UE and LE experience both related to pass rate (p < .05 and p < .001), with pass rates generally higher for those with more experience.

Conclusions: Overall, task performance on the FES Skills exam is as expected for a certification exam, with normal distributions slightly skewed toward higher scores. Loop Reduction continues to be the most difficult task, with unique psychometric properties; test developers should examine this task carefully, though these findings are not necessarily evidence of invalidity. Possible differences by simulator used also warrant continued attention. Pass rates and task performance relate to clinical experience, especially endoscopic experience.


Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.

Abstract ID: 80442

Program Number: S060

Presentation Session: Education, Simulation and Assessment

Presentation Type: Podium

49

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • WhatsApp
  • Reddit

Related

Hours & Info

11300 West Olympic Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064
1-310-437-0544
[email protected]
Monday - Friday
8am to 5pm Pacific Time

Find Us Around the Web!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Important Links

SAGES 2024 Meeting Information

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals

 

  • taTME Study Info
  • Foundation
  • SAGES.TV
  • MyCME
  • Educational Activities

Copyright © 2023 Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons