Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy (FUSE): Closing a Gap in Medical Education

Traditional medical education curricula for students, residents and trainees do not address the rapidly growing number of technological devices that are fundamentally changing health care delivery today. This is most relevant in those medical specialties that rely heavily on the use of advanced technologies and devices, for example minimally invasive surgery, interventional radiology, gastroenterology, cardiology and anesthesia. Health care professionals in these domains are increasingly sharing procedures that use energy devices of many different designs and functionality without training in their fundamental use and safety. This exposes both operators and patients to increasing risk for injury. The definitive gap in adequate education and training in new technologies prompted the development of The Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy (FUSE) program by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, nurses, educators and engineers under the leadership of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). The sweeping changes in the surgical and interventional professions due to technological innovation call for the development of additional curricula to close the educational gap on other medically important technologies. The FUSE program and future educational curricula on medical technologies are fundamental to patient care and represent a necessary paradigm shift in traditional medical education.