The ASGE STAR Certificate Program is an assessment-based curriculum that provides standardized, evidence-based education, hands-on training and assessment in Barrett's Endotherapy skills. This program targets practicing physicians who seek to improve their endoscopy skills and practice. Participants will be expected to complete all components of the curriculum in sequence. At the conclusion of the program, participants will receive a transcript of the activities they have completed and their performance on the cognitive and skills assessment components of the program. Participants who pass the assessment components will receive a certificate of completion. Results of all assessments (online and live) as well as credit earned will be tracked through this online system. Please refer to this site when looking for a status of your progress, credits awarded and transcript for the program.

The enrollment criteria described below is intended to give potential participants an idea of the basic skill levels expected of program participants, and the skills that are needed to successfully perform Barrett’s Endotherapy. Enrollees should have:

• Completed an accredited training program in gastroenterology or surgery
• Performed a minimum of 250 upper endoscopies independently, and currently performing upper endoscopy as part of daily practice
• Proficiency in endoscopic dilation, hemostasis, injection techniques and Barrett’s surveillance, including proper biopsy technique

As a result of completing this activity, physicians will be able to:

• Identify and describe the morphology of large or complex lesions of the tubular esophagus and gastric cardia and determine whether the use of endoscopic ablation is appropriate and feasible
• Select and demonstrate the detailed, step-by-step use of techniques in Barrett’s ablation (including RFA and cryotherapy)
• Select and demonstrate the detailed, step-by-step use of band-ligation mucosal resection before and after Barrett's ablation
• Demonstrate the use of techniques and endoscopic accessories for management of ablation-associated adverse events
• Select appropriate surveillance intervals for post-ablation endoscopy, based on current guidelines

Skills to be Covered

• Mucosal imaging and Lesion recognition
• Identification of findings that may influence the use of or choice of ablation modality (ablation modalities)
• Selection of appropriate ablation modality
• Set-up and thecnique of cicumferential and focal radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
• Set-up and technique of cryotherapy 
• Set-up and technoque of focal band-ligation endoscopic mucosal resection

Certificate 

The standard assessment for this course includes skills for radiofrequency ablation (RFA), cryotherapy and focal esophageal endoscopic mucosal resection.  Partcipants who successfully complete all components of the program sequentially over a given time period will receive a certificate stating the skills acquired that can be used for privleging purposes.

Windows Requirements: Operating system: Windows 7+
Browser: Internet Explorer 8+, Firefox 10+, Google Chrome 10+
Internet connection: DSL, cable modem, or other high-speed connection
Flash: Adobe® Flash® Player 12+

Macintosh Requirements:
Operating system: Mac OS X 10.6.8+
Browser: Mozilla Firefox 10+, Safari 5+, Google Chrome 10+
Internet connection: DSL, cable modem, or other high-speed connection
Flash: Adobe® Flash® Player 12+

This CME activity consists of videos and reading materials for each module. All materials required to complete the module are contained within the activity. An evaluation is included after each module and upon completion of all modules, a post test will be required to complete the online portion of the content. To obtain credit, you must pass the post test with a score of 80% or higher.

You may complete the activity in one sitting, or you may save your work in progress and complete it at a later date. However, to earn CME credits, you must complete the activity prior to the CME expiration date.

In order to claim credit, you must complete the Post-assessment and pass with a score of 80% and complete the evaluation. Completed CME will be tracked in your account and you can print a record of this CME activity at any time.

For technical difficulties, please contact ExtendMed between the hours of 9am and 5pm Central Time at 1-866-330-7335. For questions related to content or CME credits, please email education@asge.org.