GynoS™ ASRM embryo transfer simulator

The ASRM’s Embryo Transfer simulators have been made available to the Society’s membership as part of a certificate course. Most commonly, fellows first complete online course work including reading, learning materials, and other assessments. Participants then attend a day and a half long workshop where they get to practice their new skills with hands-on simulator practice. This includes working through progressively more complex cases, practicing on different uterine pathologies, and strategizing the different techniques available under the guidance of an instructor. Because the course takes place as part of a well-outlined program and over an extended period of time, fellows develop their skills naturally through repetition. This is an advantage over intensive courses or training via demonstration. Prior to the introduction of the ASRM’s ET Simulator, fellows often relied on doing ‘mock transfers’ to learn ET procedures. However, because the simulator mimics a live transfer, it is closer to reality, both in the steps undertaken and in how the procedure is perceived by fellows.

As part of its outreach efforts, the ASRM has also deployed the ET simulator to remote sections of the United State through a loan program.  Lasting between four to six weeks, fellows can take advantage of having the simulator to practice their skills and develop their confidence with recently-learned procedures. Driven by the success of the certificate course in the United States, as well as consistent requests from overseas members, simulators are currently being utilized for global deployment.

Past ASRM President, Christos Coutifaris, M.D., Ph.D., who currently supervises several fellows, has witnessed first-hand the benefits of simulation training. He notes that he recently “had the opportunity to take my own fellows through the whole course and the confidence they developed through doing the transfers was pretty amazing. It made them faster, not only in the mechanics of doing the transfer, but in how confident they felt…this is a major achievement of the simulator.”

In addition to training fellows, simulator-based training has also proven useful for standardizing embryo transfer techniques across all levels of experience and for refreshing the skills of more-experienced practitioners. As validation of simulation continues, it is likely to increasingly become part of both training and certificate maintenance processes. For instance, the ASRM’s ET certificate was recently approved to satisfy part 4 of the ‘Maintenance of Certification’ for OB/GYN. Furthermore, some fellowship programs which previously did not permit fellows to perform embryo transfers have started allowing them after they complete the Certificate Course.