title: Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy (FUSE): An Essential Educational Program for Operating Room Safety.
abstract: Operating room (OR) safety has become a major concern in patient safety since the 1990s. Improvement of team communication and behavior is a popular target for safety programming at the institutional level. Despite these efforts, essential safety gaps remain in the OR and procedure rooms. A prime example is the use of energy-based devices in ORs and procedural areas. The lack of fundamental understanding of energy device function, design, and application contributes to avoidable injury and harm at a rate of approximately 1 to 2 per 1000 patients in the US. Hundreds of OR fires occur each year in the US, some causing severe injury and even death. Most of these fires are associated with the use of energy-based surgical devices.In response to this safety issue, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) developed the Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy (FUSE) program. This program includes a standardized curriculum targeted to surgeons, other physicians, and allied health care professionals and a psychometrically designed and validated certification test. A successful FUSE certification documents acquisition of the basic knowledge needed to safely use energy-based devices in the OR. By design FUSE fills a void in the curriculum and competency assessment for surgeons and other procedural specialists in the use of energy-based devices in patients.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chair of Education and Faculty Development at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. sbjones@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Stephanie B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Director of Gynecologic Services for Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Medical Center in CA. mgmunro@aol.com.
authors.forename: Malcolm G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Munro
authors.affiliation: Professor of Surgery and Director of General Surgery at McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. liane.feldman@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Liane S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine in Aurora. thomas.robinson@ucdenver.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Professor of Surgery, Chief of the Section of Minimally Invasive Surgery, Director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship, and Director of the Washington University Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, MO. bruntm@wudosis.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: L Michael
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Brunt
authors.affiliation: Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in NY. schwaitz@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Schwaitzberg
authors.affiliation: Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Vice Chair of Surgery in the Office of Technology and Innovation, and Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgical Services at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. djones1@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Oncologic Surgeon at the Walnut Creek Medical Center, Interregional NSQIP Physician Lead for The Permanente Federation, and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of San Francisco-East Bay in CA. pascal.fuchshuber@kp.org.
authors.forename: Pascal R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Fuchshuber
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D002568:Certification; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004560:Electricity; D004598:Electrosurgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000193:education; D005390:Fires / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009873:Operating Rooms; D061214:Patient Safety; D066231:Surgeons; D013523:Surgical Equipment