Survey of Robotic Surgery Credentialing Requirements for Physicians Completing OB/GYN Residency

Study Objective: To describe credentialing requirements for newly graduated resident physicians for robotic-assisted gynecologic surgery in Alabama. Design: Cross-sectional study (Canadian Task Force classification III). Setting: Hospitals in the state of Alabama in the United States. Participants: Credentialing authorities at hospitals in Alabama that currently use robotic surgery in the field of gynecology. Interventions: Participants completed an online questionnaire about credentialing policies. Measurements and Main Results: Fifteen of 16 hospitals (94%) in Alabama that use robotic technology for gynecologic surgery participated in this survey. All hospitals had a credentialing policy for robotic surgery; however, only 9 of the 15 hospitals (60%) had a separate pathway for physicians with recent residency training. This pathway consisted of an attestation letter from a residency program director in all of the 9 hospitals, a robotic case list in 3 (33%), and proctored cases after residency in 2 (22%). Five hospitals (55%) required a certain number of hysterectomy procedures (median, 5; range, 2-10). Conclusion: Robotic surgery credentialing requirements in Alabama vary. Validation of requirements in best practices for robotic surgery by graduating resident physicians is needed. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (2012) 19, 589-592 (c) 2012 AAGL. All rights reserved.