Endoscopy Committee

Chair:

Dr. Jeff Hawel

Members:

  • Dr. Andras Fesco, Vice Chair
  • Dr. Renelle Daigle
  • Dr. Bradley Evans
  • Dr. Linda Fei
  • Dr. Tony Gomes
  • Dr. Luke Hartford
  • Dr. David Hochman
  • Dr. Intekhab Hossain
  • Dr. Eric Hyun
  • Dr. Stephen Kelly
  • Dr. Kevin Lefebvre
  • Dr. Heather McFadgen
  • Dr. Katrina Neumann
  • Dr. Michael Ott
  • Dr. David Pace
  • Dr. Riley Stewart
  • Dr. Mark Walsh

The purpose of the Endoscopy Committee is to promote endoscopy training within the Canadian General Surgical Community. This includes supporting the development of training for medical students, residents and attending surgeons, at CSF and virtually.

Endoscopy Program
An advanced interactive one-day endoscopy program designed for practicing surgeons, residents and other health care professionals interested in learning more about endoscopy is offered as part of the Canadian Surgical Forum (CSF). In particular, it provides an opportunity for trainees and practicing academic or community surgeons to gain exposure to novel devices and endoscopic approaches.  Participants comment on how they have been introduced to new endoscopic tools that they would love to incorporate into their practice and how they left the course with new ideas in how to treat problems they encounter regularly. The Committee has advanced the delivery of the program through a train-the-trainer program, growing the faculty who are able to deliver the in-person program.

Basic Endoscopy Skills Training Video (aka BEST Video)
As only a small fraction of general surgeons have participated in the hands-on course and given current restrictions on in-person training, the Committee is working on the development of a teaching video that graphically represents the impact of control inputs, scope torques and patient rotation on loop formation and advancement of the scope. This will promote improved and safe colonoscopy technique and a better understanding of how to utilize scope guidance technology such as ScopeGuide in clinical practice. The Committee’s goal is to facilitate the vast majority of Canadian General Surgeons being exposed to these techniques in an easily-accessible format.