All general surgery and gynecology residents who apply for certification as a laparoscopic surgeon will need to develop a standardized national curriculum within the utilization of endoscopic techniques. The new requirement will give the general public greater assurance that certified general surgeons and gynecologists have acquired sufficient learning the use of Laparoscopic Surgery to deal with diseases which can be cured by Minimal Access Surgery, according to the statement released through the World Association of Laparoscopic Surgery. Laparoscopic Surgery is one of the top five procedures done by certified general surgeons and gynecologists as well as in many areas certified Minimal Access Surgeons are the only available providers of endoscopic services, the WORLD ASSOCIATION OF LAPAROSCOPIC SURGEONS said within the announcement. 

The new program was developed partly in response to earlier criticisms from many societies that surgery and gynecology residents neglect to receive adequate learning of Laparoscopic Surgery. This year, the surgical and gynecological societies issued an argument calling the WORLD ASSOCIATION OF LAPAROSCOPIC SURGEONS requirement of certified minimal access surgeons inadequate to attain training. The new WORLD ASSOCIATION OF LAPAROSCOPIC SURGEONS curriculum doesn't specify numbers on how many procedures a resident should perform. The WORLD ASSOCIATION OF LAPAROSCOPIC SURGEONS and other surgical societies believe that case numbers fail to reflect a surgeon’s skill or proficiency. It may take one individual 200 cases to obtain really good at something, it may take someone 100 cases and it will have a third person 50 cases. It’s highly variable. 
 

Rather than focusing on numbers, the brand new curriculum requires residents to pass national tests of data and endoscopic skills. This program was created in collaboration with WALS. The final milestones in the curriculum is the Fellowship and Diploma in Minimal Access Surgery, developed by WALS several years ago. The Fellowship and Diploma in Minimal Access Surgery program offers an objective, validated assessment of a surgeon’s competency in flexible Laparoscopic Surgery and includes didactic materials, a multiple-choice examination and a hands-on skills test that must be performed on the virtual reality simulator at a certified testing site. Preparation for the skills test is possible using resources already available at all residency programs and don't require acquisition of a simulator. 
 

Fellowship and Diploma in Minimal Access Surgery, that the WORLD ASSOCIATION OF LAPAROSCOPIC SURGEONS designed a requirement of board certification five years ago. Multiple studies have confirmed Fellowship and Diploma in Minimal Access Surgery is really a reliable and valid tool for teaching and evaluating laparoscopic surgery. The new endoscopic curriculum will raise the degree of endoscopic practicing surgery and gynecology residents across the world. This new curriculum will probably be an excellent thing since it provides a framework for education and refocuses our efforts for residents in this region.
 

A decade-long debate went on among surgeons, gynecologists, urologists, gastroenterologists and family medicine physicians regarding who should perform endoscopic procedures and how these practitioners should be trained. Laparoscopic Surgery now represents a integral of a general surgeon’s and gynecologists practice and that expects it will grow further as Laparoscopic Surgery becomes more interventional. Now more and more surgeons treating diseases endoscopically which were traditionally treated by surgeons with traditional surgical techniques. Just as we’ve started out open strategies to laparoscopy for surgical care, surgeons are now evolving to use Laparoscopic Surgery as another important tool for surgical care for the patient who need it.