| The key concepts to understand the U.S. post-graduate medical training are “standardization of training”, “setting training goals first”, “systematic learning of concepts and skillsets to achieve the priori setting training goals”, “restriction of numbers of trainee”, and “centralizing facilities for training resource allocation”. To meet those educational concepts for endoscopic training, ASGE implemented the national advanced endoscopy fellowship (AEF) matching system in 2011. Each AEF program has only one or two trainee(s) per year, which allows the AEF trainee exposed to sufficient procedural volume and quality. I have received comments and inquiries from many Japanese endoscopists, mainly from junior faculty and trainees, about my career development. They are all seeking “mentorship in academia” and “networking” which are both crucial to become an “academic endoscopist”. I am very fortunate to gain both elements during GI and AEF training in the U.S. JGES has already engaged in supporting Japanese endoscopists studying abroad and I would very much like JGES to further facilitate supporting them in many ways. Looking back my personal training both in Japan and U.S., there are quite a few differences in terms of endoscopic training environment between Japan and U.S. In this session, I will provide an overview of the official U.S. training system, merit and demerit of U.S. training from my personal experiences, and what I think is important for Japanese endoscopists who seek to become academic endoscopists. |
