Introduction of basic obstetrical ultrasound screening in undergraduate medical education

Teaching ultrasound procedures to undergraduates has recently been proposed to improve the quality of medical education. We address the impact of applying standardized ultrasound teaching to our undergraduates.

Medical students received an additional theoretical and practical course involving hands-on ultrasound screening during their mandatory practical training week in obstetrics and gynecology. The students' theoretical knowledge and fetal image recognition skills were tested before and after the course. After the course, the students were asked to answer a course evaluation questionnaire. To standardize the teaching procedure, we used Peyton's 4-Step Approach to teach the skills needed for a German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine Level 1 ultrasound examiner.

The multiple-choice question scores after the course showed statistically significant improvement (50 vs. 80 %; P < 0.001). The questionnaire revealed that students were satisfied with the course, felt that it increased their ultrasound knowledge, and indicated that they wanted more sonographic hands-on training in both obstetrics and gynecology and other medical fields.

Using practical, hands-on medical teaching is an emerging method for undergraduate education that should be further evaluated, standardized, and developed.