Good news! The 7th edition of the much sought after WEO International School of EUS training program, WISE 2024, is now open for registration. Founded by Professor Dong Wan Seo, WISE aims to train a targeted group of doctors interested in pursuing a career in EUS and to prepare them to be future leaders in this field. The WISE program has successfully addressed the current training gap in EUS as well as the need for structured training, especially in developing parts of the world. It has also proven to be an excellent networking platform. WISE has trained more than 200 participants from more than 30 countries since its inception.
Dr Wee Khoon Ng recently completed his training in the WISE 2023 program and shares his thoughts about his personal experience:My name is Wee Khoon Ng and I am a senior consultant gastroenterologist from the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. This is a restructured tertiary referral hospital that cares for patients in the central area of Singapore. I completed my fellowship at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, under the tutelage of Assistant Professor Raymond Tang Shing Yan.
I’d like to take this opportunity to share multiple wonderful things about the WISE 2023 course.
Upon acceptance onto this course, I received very clear advance instructions, from the wonderful secretariat, on the five virtual module details which allowed me to block my calendar early. Each module consists of 2 evenings (Friday and Saturday, Korean time), each lasting 2 to 3 hours, delivered at 2-monthly intervals across 1 year. The modules are conducted virtually so that participants from all around the world have a low barrier to access this high value course.
The curriculum is clearly laid out which helps build our foundational knowledge and skills before we advance to the more complex topics:
This arrangement gave participants time between modules to put some of what we had learnt into practice. There was also time for us to read around what we had learnt, to consolidate the new knowledge and skills.
Participants were also very fortunate to be able to be able to attend the hybrid EUS Summit, an international EUS conference held in Seoul, South Korea, to present some of the work they had done and to learn from some of the best endoscopists in the world.
This course does entail a substantial time commitment from Prof. Seo and many renowned international faculty from China, Egypt, Hong Kong SAR, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, USA etc. The quality of the faculty recruited is world class and is something you only get to see at large international meetings. Therefore, it is an amazing feat for Professor Seo and the administrative team to be able to invite all the international faculty to share valuable tips and tricks that you will not learn in textbooks.
To ensure that they reap maximal benefits from WISE, the participants need to be truly committed to taking part actively during the entire course. In my opinion, it would be easier if participants were competent in the basics of EUS in order to keep up with the relatively quick pace of the course.
To further enhance trainees’ learning and participation, there was a multiple choice question (MCQ) pre-test at the start of each module, which helped to gauge participants’ knowledge. Course faculty went through the answers to the pre-test during the next module to close the learning loop. All participants had to submit a case presentation for every module, which encouraged them to research and read up about the module prior to attendance. This allowed us to also ask questions that might have arisen during our own reading.
All participants are graded based on the following: (a) participation during the course; (b) quality of their case presentation; (c) quality of the abstract submitted for the EUS Summit; and (d) results of the MCQ tests in each module.
The top 6 participants have the honor of taking part in hands-on training at the renowned EUS hub, the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, a WEO Center of Excellence.
WISE 2023 has a total of 44 participants from 22 countries around the world! It is not all work and no play. We have set up a WhatsApp group to facilitate discussion and sharing of useful resources, e.g. relevant publications, beyond what is expected of the course. Participants were also given the opportunity to meet up in person at international conferences.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the key people who have made WISE 2023 a success. First, I would like to thank Professor Seo for generously sharing his expertise and skills and for delivering the course even when he was unwell. His modest attitude and commitment to teaching EUS are an inspiration for many aspiring endoscopists. Ms Laura Schleser-Low and Ms Sohee Lee are the vital coordinators who ensure that the course runs smoothly. They are very efficient in addressing the needs of all the participants.
WEO would like to express its great appreciation to its industry supporters, Olympus, Fujifilm, Sonoscape, Steris, Taewoong, Creo Medical, and Finemedix, as well as to the national and international faculty for contributing to the success of WISE 2023 program.
If you are interested in applying for WISE 2024, please visit WEO International School of EUS (WISE) | World Endoscopy Organisation.
Applications close on January 26, 2024.
