EC Gynaecology

Objective: In 2018, experts published recommendations for training and assessing obstetric and gynecologic ultrasound skills in residency programs [1-3]. This report evaluates the utilization of these recommended guidelines among various practitioners.

Study Design: To all participants, including residents, we offered an online curriculum of 18 narrated video courses covering all 89 topics recommended by the consensus report. We recorded student responses, scores, demographic profiles, and satisfaction levels. We recorded the mean course scores, standard deviations, and independent t-tests and compared courses with low scores to the average scores for all courses. The course survey used a Likert scale to assess course satisfaction levels.

Results: In total, 68 students completed 578 courses. Among the 68 students, 38.2% were practicing ultrasound technicians, followed by Ob/Gyn residents (24%), Ob/Gyn practicing physicians (17.6%), and perinatology fellows or practicing perinatologists (4.4%). Private practice Ob/Gyn (24%) and academic-based practice (22.1%) were the most common work environments, followed by hospital-based Ob/Gyn clinic (13.2%), hospital-based perinatology clinic (13.2%), and radiology-based clinics (5.9%). The level 1 course had the highest mean scores with "aspects of exam" (86.1%), "characteristics of ultrasound equipment" (89.4%), and "official statements" (86.2%). The standard deviations ranged from 6.7 to 11.7, indicating different degrees of dispersion of student scores from the mean across various courses. Four courses had significantly lower scores than the other courses. These courses were Level 1, "First trimester”, Level 2, "Major malformations in early gestation”, Level 2, "Sonographic evaluation of the uterus”, and Level 2, "The placenta”. Course satisfaction levels were high. With a maximum score of 5.0, Level 1 courses showed an average satisfaction level of 4.49, Level 2 showed a satisfaction score of 4.53, and Level 3 scored 4.27.

Conclusion: Following the recommended guidelines from the Consensus Report makes effective course creation and competency assessment tools possible. The consensus group's curriculum and competency suggestions were valuable for practitioners and trainee residents. The dispersion of mean scores across different courses varied, indicating differences in the difficulty level of course content. Overall, the satisfaction levels were high in each category of survey questions.

 Keywords: Ob/Gyn Ultrasound Education; Ob/Gyn Resident Education; Online Ob/Gyn Ultrasound

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