The challenges of nurse endoscopist training during the COVID-19 pandemic: trainee and trainer perspectives

Making the transition from band 5 nurse to band 7 nurse endoscopist can be quite stressful. This has been made more difficult because of reduced or cancelled endoscopy lists, as well as redeployment of trainee and qualified endoscopists to other areas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2020 multinational survey study by Pawlek et al, spanning 63 countries, reported a reduction of endoscopy volume by up to 93.8%, with colonoscopy being affected the most. Electronic resources have been employed to fill this gap in training, including video recording, simulation labs and increasing involvement in low-risk procedures; however, not every endoscopy unit is equipped with these facilities. Due to the reduced numbers of patients on endoscopy lists and lists being populated with only the most urgent cases, this introduces further challenges for trainee nurse endoscopists. Trainee nurse endoscopists have been adversely affected through the pandemic, by a lack of availability of hands-on training and practice. The targets to be met for qualification remain the same, while the time taken to reach those targets will more than likely be extended due to uncontrollable factors.