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Review
. 2021 May;34(3):186-193.
doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1722765. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Proctorship in Minimally Invasive Colorectal Surgery

Assad Zahid  1   2 , Danilo Miskovic  1
Affiliations
Review

Proctorship in Minimally Invasive Colorectal Surgery

Assad Zahid et al. Clin Colon Rectal Surg. 2021 May.

Abstract

Teaching an established surgeon in a novel technique by a colleague who has acquired a level of expertise is often referred to as "proctoring" or "precepting." Surgical preceptorships can be defined as supervised teaching programs, whereby individual or groups of surgeons (proctors) experienced in a certain technique support a colleague who wants to adopt this technique (sometimes referred to as "delegates" or "preceptees"). Preceptorship programs really focus on a specific technique, technology, or skill which is required to broaden, complement, or transform an established surgeon's practice. Within colorectal surgery, in the past 30 years, there is been an evolution of interventional options including open, laparoscopic, robotic, and endoscopic procedures. With each new emerging technology and technique, safe and effective uptake by established surgeons is best been attained by a period of proctorship by an experienced colleague. Formalizing this has been facilitated largely through industry support. There, however, remains a considerable chasm when it comes to standardization, quality control, and jurisprudence. This article aims to describe the requirements for a contemporary proctorship program, to examine instruments of quality control, and how to improve effectiveness.

Keywords: colorectal surgery; competency; minimally invasive; preceptorship; proctorship.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Gartner Hype Cycle curve.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Peyton's 4-step leaning circle.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Ericsson's illustration demonstrating the qualitative difference between the course of improvement of expert performance of everyday activities. The goal of everyday activities is to reach a satisfactory level that is fixed and automated and then executed with a minimal amount of effort. In contrast, expert performers counteract automaticity by developing increasingly complex mental representations to attain higher levels of control of their performance.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Multiple components in establishing a successful proctoring program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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