Teaching Colonoscopy: Scope of Practice or Practice of Scope?

Excerpt

Teaching colonoscopy can be tedious, yet much more rewarding than many appreciate. I allude to teaching “colonoscopy” and not only “colonoscopic technique” for a reason. The last 30 years have taught me that there is an order of magnitude greater knowledge needed to master the art of colonoscopy in contradistinction to simply passing the colonoscope tip to the cecum. My career began at a large multispecialty clinic where, at the time, I had little to offer as I was an attending “supervisor” as opposed to an endoscopic “trainer” [1]. Over the subsequent 25 years, I learned the nuances of colonoscopic technique. I realized the benefit of the insertion tube hanging loosely from the stretcher edge and the necessity of working with a straightened colonoscope, as well as the technique of how to ensure the same upon scope insertion. …