Prerequisites to FEES Competency Training:
Prior to competency training, trainees are required to complete the SASS Basic FEES Training Course to:
- Develop a better knowledge and understanding of the neurology and physiology of normal swallowing;
- Cultivate a deeper understanding and useable knowledge of the underlying biomechanics of disordered swallowing;
- Be familiar with and understand SASS’s FEES administration protocol and its application;
- Be familiar with and learn to apply SASS’s FEES scoring and analysis protocols;
- Undergo supervised instruction to learn proper and safe endoscope insertion and manipulation using the SASS 15-step training protocol; and
- Build rapport with SASS’s trainers who will spend the week of competency supervising your training.
Methods:
Trainees will spend 5 consecutive days with two SASS trainers who carry the endorsement for endoscopy and endoscopy training in the state of Tennessee. Trainees will complete each FEES procedure beginning with equipment set up to final report writing and infection control cleaning of equipment.
Trainees will be assessed for FEES competency using a derivation of the Dysphagia Competency Verification Tool (DCVT): Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) (Link: ASHA).