Historical innovation in education: the development of an endoscopy technician training program and a novel professional pathway for endoscopy assistants

Behind every successful endoscopist is a cadre of talented and outstanding assistants. When I graduated from my gastroenterology fellowship at the Division of Digestive Diseases at UCLA Medical Center in 2017, I casually asked for advice from one of my endoscopy assistants. She responded, “Make sure to stay the cheerful way you are, and 1 day when you become big, don’t you ever forget about us little people.”