title: Validity evidence for a new portable, lower-cost platform for the fundamentals of endoscopic surgery skills test.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The fundamentals of endoscopic surgery (FES) examination measures the knowledge and skills required to perform safe flexible endoscopy. A potential limitation of the FES skills test is the size and cost of the simulator on which it was developed (GI Mentor II virtual reality endoscopy simulator; Simbionix LTD, Israel). A more compact and lower-cost alternative (GI Mentor Express) was developed to address this issue. The purpose of this study was to obtain evidence for the validity of scores obtained on the Express platform, so that it can be used for testing.
  
  
  METHODS
  General surgery residents at various levels of training and practicing endoscopists at five institutions participated. Each completed the five FES tasks on both simulator platforms in random order, with 3-14 days between tests. Scores were calculated using the same standardized computer-generated algorithm and compared using Pearson's correlation coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 58 participants (mean age 32; 76% male) with a broad range of endoscopic experience. The mean (95% confidence interval) FES scores were 72 (67:77) on the GI Mentor II and 66 (60:71) on the Express. The correlation between scores on the two platforms was 0.86 (0.77:0.91; p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a high correlation between FES manual skills scores measured on the original platform and the new Express, providing evidence to support the use of the GI Mentor Express for FES testing.
authors.affiliation: Steinberg-Bernstein Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada. carmenleandramueller@gmail.com.|Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. carmenleandramueller@gmail.com.|Montreal General Hospital, Room E19-125, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada. carmenleandramueller@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carmen L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Steinberg-Bernstein Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.|Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Pepa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaneva
authors.affiliation: Steinberg-Bernstein Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.|Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Gerald M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mellinger
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Centre, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: Division of Endoscopic Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital System, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Dunkin
authors.affiliation: Division of General and Laparoendoscopic Surgery, University of Texas Health Sciences System, San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Kent
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van Sickle
authors.affiliation: Steinberg-Bernstein Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.|Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Melina C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vassiliou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003479:Curriculum; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013043:Specialties, Surgical; D014481:United States
keywords: Assessment; Endoscopy; Fundamentals of endoscopic surgery