[ST-30] Verification by the American College of Surgeons
for the Use of Emerging Technologies
[by the American College of Surgeons]
At its February 1998 meeting, the Board
of Regents of the American College of Surgeons approved a process
by which its Fellows and Associate Fellows could be verified
for the use of emerging technologies. This process has been designed
to provide the surgeon with documentation of educational achievement
sufficient to persuade those who are responsible for credentialing/privileging
in the local practice setting that the surgeon can be permitted
to apply the technology to patients.
Recommendation by Fellows that a new technological development
should be considered for the College's verification program is
to be written and should be supported by evidence that the technology
is:
1. New
2. Relevant to the practice of surgery
3. Likely to affect substantial numbers of patients and
surgeons
4. Approved or under consideration for approval by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), if the jurisdiction of the
FDA pertains
5. Supported by evidence of safety and effectiveness published
in the scientific literature.
Recommendations relating to this program are to be addressed
to:
Committee on Emerging Surgical Technology and Education
c/o Department of Education and Surgical Services
American College of Surgeons
633 N. Saint Clair St.
Chicago, IL 60611-3211
The American College of Surgeons will verify individual
surgeons in the use of emerging new technological
procedures and equipment according to the following general guidelines.
New technologies that may be appropriate as subjects for the
College to include in its verification process will be evaluated
for the Board of Regents by the Committee on Emerging Surgical
Technology and Education (CESTE) and will be based on credible
recommendation by individual Fellows or by organizational elements
of the College.
CESTE will report to the Board of Regents as to its assessment
of the validity, or lack thereof, of the respective technology
as a candidate subject for verification of surgeons by the College.
If the subject technology is judged suitable for verification
by the College, a multidisciplinary panel of experts will be
assembled for the purpose of stipulating the criteria appropriate
for verification. These criteria would include:
1. Eligibility of applicants for verification, with qualifications
based on previous training and experience.
2. Education required for the applicant surgeon's adequate
understanding of and familiarization with the subject technology.
3. The environment recommended for appropriate use of the
subject technology.
Based on the recommendations of the multidisciplinary expert
panel, CESTE, with the approval of the Board of Regents, will
identify Fellows of the College who will provide the leadership
for undertaking the requisite educational effort. The leadership
will proceed with organizing an educational group that will be
responsible for identifying and ensuring that the faculty and
methods necessary for acquisition of the knowledge and skills
required of surgeons for verification are in place.
The educational process to be employed will include the following
elements:
1. A statement of learning goals and objectives derived from
the recommendations of the multidisciplinary expert panel, as
well as a means of assessing whether the surgeon has met the
program's specific learning objectives.
2. Determination and development of the desired content and
materials of the educational program.
3. Definition of background requirements of applicants for
entry into the educational program and a reasonable means for
confirming that these requirements have been met.
4. A defined system of continuing quality improvement to ensure
the ongoing quality and consistency of the educational program.
Issuance of documentation of verification for individual surgeons
will occur promptly following the surgeon's successful completion
of the educational program.
The College will issue recommendations regarding ongoing assessment
and confirmation of the maintenance of knowledge and skills of
surgeons using the technology, based on:
1. Experience
2. Outcomes
3. Continuing education
Statements menu
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Reprinted from Bulletin of the American College
of Surgeons
Vol.83, No. 05, May 1998
