1292 Surgical Immersion in Endoscopy with a Clinical and Leadership Fellow

Aim The effectiveness of immersion training in endoscopy for surgical trainees has not been documented previously and we aimed to assess the impact at a busy gastrointestinal surgical unit within London. This involved providing the surgical registrars with a week of endoscopy training every month, during which time their clinical duties would be covered by an appointed clinical leadership fellow – externally funded by HEE. Method Surgical trainees currently rotating at Queen’s Hospital Surgical unit are each enrolled in endoscopy immersion and assigned a week per month with prior notice to hand over their clinical duties to the clinical fellow. During the immersion week, the surgical registrar is exposed to hands-on training, simulator access, and interactive sessions with experienced endoscopists. Results Three surgical trainees were enabled access since September 2023 to immersion training. Another trainee mentioned performing around 6-7 colonoscopies per day during immersion to a total of 65 in two weeks. A third trainee has attended a total of 8 endoscopy lists in 1 week. He competed 28 colonoscopies and 2 OGD’s, achieving TI intubation in 4, caecal intubation in 18. Conclusions The feedback supports the efficacy of immersion week as a valuable adjunct to traditional surgical training. Integration of immersion weeks into the curriculum can potentially optimize the training pathway for surgical registrars allowing them to achieve the required numbers for CCT and building competencies. Study leave blocks for endoscopy training could also be an alternate option.