Development of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Competency Assessment Tool for Pediatric Colonoscopy

Objectives: Many aspects of pediatric colonoscopy differ from adult Responses were analyzed and re-sent to the panel for further ratings until consensus was reached. Items that 80% of experts rated as 4 out of 5 were included in the final instrument. Consensus items were compared with those expert consensus regarding items required on a checklist and global rating scale designed to assess the competence of clinicians performing colonoscopy on pediatric patients. Methods: A total of 41 North American pediatric endoscopy experts rated items deemed by adult endoscopy experts as fundamental to assessing the performance of adult colonoscopy. Results: Five rounds of surveys were completed with response rates ranging from 76% to 100%. Seventy-five checklist and 38 global rating items were reduced to 18 checklist and 7 global rating items that reached consensus. Three pediatric checklist items differed from those considered to be critical adult indicators, whereas 4 items on the latter did not reach consensus among pediatric experts. Conclusions: Delphi methodology allowed for achievement of expert consensus regarding essential items to be included in the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Competency Assessment Tool for Pediatric Colonoscopy (GiECATKIDS), a measure of endoscopic competence specific to performing pediatric colonoscopy. Key differences in the checklist items, compared with items reaching consensus during a separate adult Delphi process using the same indicators, emphasize the need for a pediatric-specific tool.