Sarah Colon

The current pandemic situation has resulted in a lack of testing availability at our current FLS Test Centers. While we continue to work with our existing test centers to open as many testing slots as possible to both internal and external test takers, we know getting back to pre-COVID availability will take some time.

To help increase testing availability and reduce resident stress, we have created the following testing solutions:

SAGES is pleased to share that institutions with eligible test takers can elect to schedule a special remote proctor to administer the FLS exam! A SAGES FLS Proctor will coordinate the shipment of necessary materials to your site, work with two of your staff to get everything set up, and zoom in on the testing day(s) to proctor the exam.

For more information regarding pricing, lead time, onsite requirements, the materials SAGES will provide, and to fill out a request form, please go to: https://www.flsprogram.org/testing-information/remote-testing/

SAGES-ACS Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery™ (FLS) announces new supplier for the FLS Trainer Box and Accessories.

The committee overseeing the FLS Program, a joint educational program of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and The American College of Surgeons (ACS) will be granting exclusive rights for the manufacture and sale of the FLS Training Simulator and associated accessories and supplies to Limbs & Things, Inc. (LTI), a medical training simulation firm.

LTI will supply updated versions of the FLS Trainer Box that are designed to suit the individual needs of the training center and trainee. All new task accessories and supplies will be comparable to current FLS products being used and compatible with existing FLS systems.  While the new products will feature an updated look and refinements, the basic parameters affecting the skills training and performance will remain. FLS products from LTI will be available in the near future at www.fls-products.com.

“We are excited about partnering with Limbs & Things Inc.” said Steven D. Schwaitzberg, MD FACS, chairman of the SAGES FLS Committee, “which will offer an updated look, flexible options and excellent value to purchasers.”

For more details concerning the transition, please click here.

The SAGES/ACS Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) Program is celebrating two major milestones in 2015 with the opening of International FLS Test Centers in France and Saudi Arabia and having issued a landmark 10,000 FLS certifications. These remarkable achievements follow on the heels of the FLS program’s 10-year anniversary last October.

• Expanding FLS training and certification beyond North America has been a main focus in recent years. The newly established test centers at  IHU Strasbourg-IRCAD in Strasbourg, France and King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will help address the growing international demand for a reliable and valid process for testing of competence in basic laparoscopy. View the full article here.
• According to Dr. Allan Okrainec, FLS Committee Co-chair, “these new Test Centers, along with our Test Centers already up and running in Singapore (Khoo Teck Puat Hospital) and Israel (Bnai-Zion Medical Center), will further elevate the standards of training for laparoscopic surgeons, enhancing operating performance worldwide.”
• SAGES congratulates Dr. Christopher Crawford on becoming the 10,000th surgeon to successfully complete the FLS Program! Dr. Crawford is a chief resident in general surgery at Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin and a SAGES Candidate Member. Upon completing his residency, he will continue his training at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s MIS Fellowship Program.

For a complete list of individuals who have successfully completed the FLS program, please visit the FLS Registry. For more information about FLS visit www.flsprogram.org.

Effective March 1, 2014, any test-taker wishing to retake one or both parts of the FLS exam that they did not complete successfully must do so within 18 months of their original exam date in order to be eligible for a retest voucher. Any test-taker wishing to retest more than 18 months from their original exam date will need purchase a new test voucher and take both parts of the exam during the same appointment time.  All retest vouchers (including second and third attempt) will expire 18 months from the test-taker’s original exam date, regardless of when they were purchased. Retest vouchers must be used prior to their expiration date, located in the top right-hand corner of the voucher. To purchase a voucher, please go to https://www.surgicalfundamentals.org and use our Guide: How to Purchase FLS Products.

Test-takers whose original exam date occurs prior to March 1, 2014 and who have not yet passed both parts of the exam will have 18 months to purchase a retest voucher and retake the exam.  After August 30, 2015, those test takers will no longer be eligible to purchase a retest voucher and will need to purchase a new test voucher and take both parts of the exam during the same appointment time.

For more information, please click here for our Retest Instructions

Click here for our Bulletin of Information

Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions

FLS now publishes a listing of those who have successfully completed the FLS exam.   Each person passing the FLS exam has the choice to be listed on the Registry or to remain unlisted.  The FLS Registry will list the test taker’s name, year of FLS completion, and, National Provider Identification number if available.  The FLS Registry will not list FLS exam scores, if one ore more attempts were needed to successfully complete the exam, any test takers who have purchased the FLS program but have not yet taken the exam, or the names of anyone who has taken the exam but not yet achieved a passing score.

If you want to learn more about the NPI, visit https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Administrative-Simplification/NationalProvIdentStand/.  If you want to locate your NPI or apply for a NPI, visit https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/nppes/npiregistryhome.do .   If you do not have an NPI, the FLS Registry will still list your name as having completed the FLS exam if you wish, and show “NPI not applicable”.

To view the registry please click here

If you have questions about the FLS Registry or if you want your name to be listed, please contact our office at 310-437-0544, ext. 137, or email fls@sages.org.