title: Transatlantic Multispecialty Consensus on Fundamental Endovascular Skills: Results of a Delphi Consensus Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to establish a consensus on Fundamental Endovascular Skills (FES) for educational purposes and development of training curricula for endovascular procedures. The term "Fundamental Endovascular Skills" is widely used; however, the current literature does not explicitly describe what skills are included in this concept. Endovascular interventions are performed by several specialties that may have opposing perspectives on these skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  A two round Delphi questionnaire approach was used. Experts from interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, and vascular surgery from the United States and Europe were invited to participate. An electronic questionnaire was generated by endovascular therapists with an appropriate educational background but who would not participate in subsequent rounds. The questionnaire consisted of 50 statements describing knowledge, technical, and behavioral skills during endovascular procedures. Experts received the questionnaires by email. They were asked to rate the importance of each skill on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. A statement was considered fundamental when more than 90% of the experts rated it 4 or 5 out of 5.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three of 53 experts invited agreed to participate: six interventional radiologists (2 USA, 4 Europe), 10 vascular surgeons (4 USA, 6 Europe), and seven interventional cardiologists (4 USA, 3 Europe). There was a 100% response rate in the first round and 87% in the second round. Results showed excellent consensus among responders (Cronbach's alpha = .95 first round; .93 second round). Ninety percent of all proposed skills were considered fundamental. The most critical skills were determined.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A transatlantic multispecialty consensus was achieved about the content of "FES" among interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, and vascular surgeons from Europe and the United States. These results can serve as directive principles for developing endovascular training curricula.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: heidi.maertens@ugent.be.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maertens
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vermassen
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Van Herzeele
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003071:Cognition; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D034742:Electronic Mail; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000193:education*; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D009048:Motor Skills; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: Delphi consensus; Endovascular interventions; Multidisciplinary; Skills; Training