Obstetric Ultrasonography in Postgraduate Radiology Training: A National Survey Study

There is no study in the literature that reveals the adequacy of obstetric ultrasonography (US) training in Turkey. We aimed to evaluate the adequacy of obstetric US training radiologists had received during their residency and determine how competent they considered themselves to be in this regard.A survey (27 items for residents, 21 items for specialists) was sent to all the radiology residents and specialists in Turkey through the mail list of the Turkish Society of Radiology.Ninety-one residents and 217 specialists participated in our study. Sixteen residents (17.6%) had received theoretical courses, 21 residents (23.1%) and 59 specialists (27.2%) had attended in-house obstetric US rotations, and 5 residents (5.5%) and 23 specialists (10.6%) had attended obstetric US rotations in another institution. When questioned separately for each trimester, only 11% to 36.3% of the residents stated that they took care of a sufficient number of patients. In general, 62.6% of the residents and 25.3% of the specialists did not consider themselves to be absolutely competent in obstetric US. The competency sources were specified as residency training by 44 residents (48.6%) and 55 specialists (25.3%), postgraduate training by 2 residents (2.2%) and 78 specialist (35.9%).In Turkey, current obstetric US training does not provide the experience that will allow physicians with radiology training to easily perform and interpret obstetric US. The main reasons for this situation include the limited number of patients the physicians took care of as a resident, insufficient rotation time, and lack of theoretical courses they attended.