Creation of an International interventional endoscopy fellowship program in Japan - based on a combined US fellowship and Japanese training experience.

Latest Japanese endoscopic achievement has prevailed in the field of magnified NBI and interventional endoscopy. However, training and dissemination of such skills from highly skilled endoscopists in Japan to the world has always been difficult for various reasons. The best way of training a highly complex interventional procedure such as ESD or interventional EUS has always been through a step-wise progression program, under the direct supervision of an expert endoscopist. Our program is designed based on a combination of an US interventional EUS fellowship experience and the Japanese training system. We have successfully initiated a 3 month interventional endoscopy training program including ESD, EUS-FNA, ERCP and interventional EUS at our hospital in Tokyo. This program had allowed a foreign trained doctor from the UK to be licensed and approved by the Japanese ministry of health in order to perform clinical procedures on patients in Japan under the supervision of a Japanese expert who possess proficient English skills. We describe how it is possible from application to the Japanese authorities for licensing approval, to shaping a structured English based training program in interventional endoscopy at our hospital. This program is also beneficial for young Japanese fellow's English training and creates a gateway for further international exchanges and collaboration.