April 7, 2008 - The Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS), a joint educational program from the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has received a $1.8 million grant from Covidien to launch The Covidien Educational Fund.
Covidien will be supporting surgical residency and fellowship training by providing an opportunity for surgeons-in-training to utilize the FLS program to study and to certify their basic skills in laparoscopy before going into clinical practice. The Covidien Educational Fund will allow the FLS program to be provided to over 250 surgical residency programs in the US and Canada, reaching thousands of surgeons-in-training, according to the company.
The FLS program, developed by SAGES and now jointly supported by the ACS, is a comprehensive and validated educational module designed to teach the physiology, fundamental knowledge and technical skills required in basic laparoscopy that allows practice in a safe environment without putting patients at risk. FLS consists of two multi-media CD-ROMs (soon to be web-based), a hands-on skills training component and an assessment tool. Upon completion of the didactic and manual skills training portion of the course, participants take a proctored, two-part exam that covers cognitive knowledge, clinical judgment and technical skills.
For more information: www.covidien.com, www.sages.org