title: Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy. An analysis of proficiency.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the number of procedures necessary to become proficient in flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopic examination. I performed 99 bronchoscopic procedures during a formal training program under the direct supervision of instructors with varying experience. There were no statistical differences in the bronchoscopic accuracy among the instructors whose experience ranged from 100 to 4,000 bronchoscopic procedures. This implied that 100 procedures were necessary to become proficient in fiberoptic bronchoscopic examination. Immediately following the formal training program, I performed 35 consecutive bronchoscopic procedures without supervision. The diagnostic accuracy of these procedures was not statistically different from the accuracy during the training program. This study suggests that 100 flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopic procedures are sufficient to become proficient.
mesh_terms: D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000592:standards*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans