Professor Paolo Arcidiacono and Dr. Katarzyna Pawlak discuss the requirements, training pathways, and personal qualities needed to become a skilled interventional endoscopist, emphasizing mentorship, high procedural volume, and patient-centred decision-making over purely technical skills.
- The speakers argue that becoming a competent interventional endoscopist requires patience, persistence, a strong mentor, and high procedural volume rather than just technical skill, with one guest noting that you can teach the technique to a monkey but complex decision-making separates experts from technicians.
- Paolo Arcidiacono emphasized that the most critical lesson is knowing when NOT to perform a procedure, understanding complications and how to manage them, and having contingency plans including when to involve interventional radiology or surgery.
- Structured fellowships of at least one year are recommended for trainees starting out, while short visits of 2-3 weeks may suffice for experienced endoscopists seeking to refine specific skills, though both require centres with adequate case volume.
- The speakers stated that you do not need to be in an academic centre to become an excellent interventional endoscopist, citing that you need to be a good physician first and that clinical research is possible in high-volume non-academic settings.
- This episode is most relevant for gastroenterology trainees considering advanced endoscopy fellowships and early-career endoscopists planning their training pathway in therapeutic procedures.
This summary was generated by an AI large language model based on the content transcript. It is for informational
purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for clinical judgment. Always rely on your professional
expertise and the full clinical context when making clinical decisions.