The first post-graduate one-day course held in the same year (1974) at Memorial Hospital was "A Day in the Colon," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the time spent doing a single colonoscopy as well as referring to the one-day course. The following year "A Night in the Cecum" was the sequel, reflecting our poor knowledge of cecal intubation and landmarks. Since then the course has been given every year, has grown to several days, hundreds of attendees and many exhibitors, truly a "mini-DDW". It is now the largest GI endoscopy course in the country after the national ASGE course. In addition to this major course, other educational activities have been added including a lecture at the Annual Dinner meeting, a summer fellows course managed by Jean Saleh, frequent case presentation meetings, scientific symposia, and the introduction by Ellen Scherl of the Fellows Intracity Rounds. NYSGE also has been actively involved with local and national research, health and legislative initiatives, including the New York City campaign on colorectal cancer with the Department of Health coalition. Many NYSGE members have served nationally and internationally with great distinction and have received many awards including the Schindler Award and the Distinguished Educator Award. Executive Director Florence Lefcourt has been honored several times. NYSGE has grown stronger over the years, becoming a model society with a high national and international profile. It is an invaluable asset to gastroenterologists in the greater New York area, setting a standard of excellence in GI education, training, and research.
