"In medical school, we have pharmacology courses that teach stu-
dents how drugs work, their metabolism, what their mechanism is,"
says Thomas Robinson, MD, MS, FACS, a professor of surgery at the
University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and the commit-
tee chair of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic
Surgeons' FUSE (Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy) program. "But
there's no formal education or training on electrosurgical technology
and devices."
Surgeons can learn the basics from electrosurgery equipment ven-
dors, which in certain cases is useful and adequate, but the line
between education and marketing can get blurred. That's why a pro-
gram like FUSE (see "Training for the Entire Team") — an educa-
tional platform geared toward providing the knowledge needed for
the safe use of energy-based surgical devices in the OR, endoscopic
suite or other procedure areas — is so beneficial. Dr. Robinson says
FUSE's top priority is "to fill the gap in knowledge within the surgi-
cal community by informing and teaching how the technology
works, so professionals fully understand the strategies they can use
in the OR to safely use electrosurgery instruments."
Dr. Renton puts the program's value a bit more bluntly. "Years ago,
most surgeons' understanding of electrosurgery was, 'You press this
button, and this end burns things.'"
Thankfully, times have changed. So have the expectations you
should have about ensuring surgeons focus on patient safety when
they cut, coagulate and ablate.
Trained for new tech
Whether your surgeons rely on a program like FUSE or a trusted vendor
rep, it's critical that they have a firm understanding of how electro-
surgery equipment works and why it works that way. This is especially
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