Abstract
The purpose of this statement is to provide guidelines to assist hospital credentialling committees in their task of granting privileges to perform gastrointestinal endoscopy. Endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract has evolved over the past 30 years as a potent tool to assist in the evaluation, diagnosis and therapy of patients with gastrointestinal tract disorders. Although gastrointestinal endoscopy was initially developed as a purely diagnostic tool, the development of therapeutic endoscopic techniques has dramatically expanded the role of gastrointestinal endoscopy, frequently to a therapeutic one. In setting guidelines for training and credentialling one must recognize that, excluding flexible sigmoidoscopy, endoscopists should be well trained in therapeutic endoscopy.