AAGL’s Essentials in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (EMIGS) Program launched at the beginning of 2023, and we are thrilled to share our first-year progress. EMIGS was projected to enroll about 300 residents during the first year, but we have exceeded that number by three times with over 1000 residents registered in 2023. Over 140 unique OB/GYN programs have enrolled their residents and led the way in resident education by participating in the only OB/GYN specific program that fulfills the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) Surgical Skills Program standard for ABOG certification.
As part of AAGL’s continuing efforts to make EMIGS accessible, we launched a monthly Q&A Zoom session hosted by EMIGS staff titled, “Exploring EMIGS.” In this live online format, program administrators and residents can hear updates and ask questions about the EMIGS program.
AAGL and EMIGS have partnered with Hologic and Inovus to expand and improve resident training by providing innovative Augmented Reality (AR) hysteroscopic and laparoscopic simulators to all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved OB/GYN residency programs. You can read more about this collaboration here.
The EMIGS Program aims to be the gold standard in OB/GYN surgical skills training and assessment, and in doing so continually works on updating and improving the content offered. We are currently working on adding more resources to the didactics to help candidates prepare for the cognitive exam. Other psychometric projects underway include an analysis of the exam content and blueprint, as well as regular evaluations of the performance of the exam forms. Many thanks go out to our Steering Committee members for their dedication, countless hours, and expertise to further the EMIGS Program.
This year has brought about the new EMIGS Research Award in collaboration with the Foundation of the AAGL. Thanks to a generous endowment of $80,000, the Foundation and EMIGS will offer up to $10,000/year in MIGS research grants. Look for more details and how to apply for these grants in the next edition of NewsScope.
Looking forward to 2024, we are strengthening our Didactic content and updating the Cognitive exam. We will explore the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the addition of the LapAR and HystAR platforms, and we are preparing to roll out EMIGS to the international community.
After many years of development, EMIGS is truly one of AAGL’s crowning achievements. We give our sincere thanks to the EMIGS Steering Committee, the ten AAGL Boards who held the vision, and the AAGL staff who contributed to its completion. Visit the AAGL EMIGS website for more information. If you have any questions, please contact Angie Diaz, EMIGS Manager at adiaz@aagl.org.
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