What is the bowel scope application criteria and process?

Applications to become a BCSP bowel scope endoscopist are made online through the Bowel Cancer Screener Accreditation website. For any enquiries on the criteria and process please email [e-mail].

There are two stages to this process, first, an endoscopist must apply to become a candidate, then an application needs to be completed, submitted and approved in order to take an assessment.

Please note that accredited BCSP screening colonoscopists are approved to undertake bowel scope screening without needing to go through the Bowel Scope specific assessment process.

Bowel Scope candidate criteria and application process:

Criteria

To become a bowel scope candidate, the following criteria must be met:

• Candidates must be fully registered with an appropriate professional body. There is no necessity for an endoscopist in the programme to be a nurse or doctor, but they must be registered as a health care professional. This means that they are able to work unsupervised and take upon themselves responsibility for their own professional actions and practice.
• Be attached to a screening centre. 
• Have a permanent contract within the NHS for at least 12 months
• If the candidate is a pre-CCT trainee, they are required to provide evidence they have Deanery Permission to apply to be a BCSP Bowel Scope Screening Endoscopist.
• Work in a site that has been approved to provide BCSP screening
• Has JETS certification (in Flexible Sigmoidoscopy and/or either provisional or full Colonoscopy). If you trained overseas or before the JETS programme you will need to demonstrate your competence by keeping record of your performance data and demonstrating your KPI’s.

Application process

• The screening centre director or programme manager must complete a ‘New Screener Request Form - Bowel Scope’ to request the additional screening endoscopist. The form should be downloaded from the download centre of the BCSA website. The form then needs to be sent to your regional QA advisor before being sent to [e-mail].
• Once we receive the new screener request form from Public Health England, the BCSA administrator in the JAG office will create an account for the candidate to apply online. An automated email from [e-mail] will be sent to the candidate confirming the application arrangements. Online applications must be completed and criteria met in full prior to submission. No paper applications will be accepted.
• Submitting an application for the accreditation process is part of the on-going quality assurance of the BCSA and the data from applications and assessments may be used for evaluation and audit purposes.
• Once the BCSA administrator has confirmed the candidate meets all the assessment criteria they will be sent a list of available dates for assessment.

Eligibility criteria for bowel scope assessment

Once a person is approved as a candidate they must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a bowel scope assessment:

• Have a minimum lifetime experience of 350 lower GI endoscopic examinations
• Have a minimum of 150 independent lower GI examinations, required in the 12 months prior to the submission of an application. These can include observed cases but any observer or trainer cannot have offered advice or taken over the scope. These procedures must have taken place after the candidate has completed JETS certification (in Flexible Sigmoidoscopy and/or either provisional or full Colonoscopy).
• Record performance data including;
• Lifetime perforation rate
• Polyp detection rate in the last 12 months
• Polyp retrieval rate in the last 12 months
• Complications during your Lower GI endoscopic practice in the last 12 months (including number of cases requiring surgical intervention post endoscopy, number showing significant bleeding, number which needed unplanned admission and any other complications). This audit must be verified and signed off by the endoscopy unit sister or manager and by a senior colleague/clinical director. Both should have been invited to inspect the raw data.
• Be observed undertaking polypectomy and there is a requirement to submit 4 formative DOPyS with the application. The 4 DOPyS which need to be submitted as part of the application process may be signed off by a trained mentor, an endoscopy trainer or the internal assessor. The DOPyS used in the application must be signed off within 12 months of the application being submitted.

To support applicants to obtain DOPyS, it is permissible for a procedure to be recorded and then for the DOPyS form to be completed using a recording. If a video is used for DOPyS assessment, the applicant and person signing off the DOPyS should both be present when it is completed. Applicants should be encouraged to obtain DOPyS as soon as the screener request form has been submitted. Applicants must complete the 4 DOPyS prior to submission of the application form.

Please note that candidates who do not complete their application within 12 months of commencing the process will be required to start the application process from the beginning.