Maternal-fetal medicine fellowship 3- and 4-dimensional ultrasound experience: room for improvement

The purpose of this study was to assess maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) fellowship 3- and 4-dimensional (3D/4D) ultrasound experience and training.

A 53-item prenatal diagnosis survey was emailed to 458 associate members of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Associate members include both MFM fellows and recent graduates who are not yet board certified in MFM.

A total of 148 associate members completed the survey (32% response rate); 92% were at least in their second year of a fellowship, and 48.1% had completed a fellowship. About half (50.8%) were capable of performing 3D/4D ultrasound examinations ("performers"), whereas 49.2% were not ("nonperformers"). Among performers, about 80% were capable of only basic image acquisition. Overall, 39.5% of respondents received no official 3D/4D ultrasound training, and 55.5% stated that fewer than 1 in 5 of their MFM faculty routinely performed 3D/4D ultrasound examinations. Compared with performers, nonperformers had less formal 3D/4D ultrasound training (53% versus 26%; P = .018) and fewer MFM faculty who performed 3D/4D ultrasound examinations (43% versus 68%; P = .005), and fewer nonperformers were taught by ultrasound mentors (25% versus 47.8%; P = .011).

Most fellows are not trained in 3D/4D ultrasound. Greater emphasis on ultrasound mentorship and formalized ultrasound training by MFM faculty during fellowships is needed.