Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center George Berci Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration Course Pilot Program

On Tuesday, August 13, the George Berci Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration Course pilot program was held at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. Heather Evans, M.D., MS, Chief of Surgery at the VA, and Jennifer Fiorini, M.D., Lead for Surgical Education at the VA, hosted the course.  Participants completed 90 minutes of pre-course virtual didactics, then participated in a full day of dedicated in-person learning with live didactics and discussion, including hands-on simulation, at RHJVAMC Simulation Center.

Several faculty took time out of their busy schedule to participate, including Rana Pullatt, M.D., Mary Kate Bryant, M.D., MSCR, and Douglas Cassidy, M.D.  The enrollment number was capped, so resident participation was limited to chief residents who expressed specific interest in using these skills in their future practice, including Andy Cole, M.D., Leah Plumbee, M.D., MS, John Hulse, M.D., Maggie Jordan, M.D., and Macelyn Batten, D.O. 

At the end of the course, the acquisition of skills required to safely clear the common bile duct of stone burden was put to the test with a timed skills demonstration on the simulator, in which the resident participants clearly outpaced the attendings. Drs. John Hulse, Leah Plumbee, and Andy Cole took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively.

Feedback from this pilot will help shape future offerings of this course, and outcomes data will be tracked and analyzed by general surgery resident and VA Quality Scholar Macelyn Batten for future presentation and publication.

This educational pathway was created by Fernando Santos, M.D., of the White River Junction VAMC and Dartmouth Medical Center, and brought to the RHJVAMC with support from VHA and SimLEARN, VHA’s national program for simulation in healthcare training. Instructors included Dr. Santos, Dr. Carl Westcott from Wake Forest, and Dr. Edward Jones from the University of Colorado.