Serial image interpretation tasks improve accuracy and increase confidence in Level 1 echocardiography reporting: a...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Point-of-Care Ultrasound
• Cardiology Training

Background:

• Focused echocardiography is vital in acute care, yet evidence for effective teaching methods is limited.
• Access to in-person training poses a barrier, disproportionately affecting certain learners.
• This study addresses the need for empirical data on teaching focused echocardiography skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if serial image interpretation tasks enhance novice echocardiographers' diagnostic accuracy.
• To explore the relationship between reporting accuracy and self-reported confidence.
• To assess learner satisfaction with a potentially remote-accessible training program.

Main Methods:

• 27 participants completed remote lectures and in-person sessions.
• Participants performed 40 focused echocardiography reporting tasks in randomized batches.
• Accuracy was benchmarked against expert consensus; confidence and satisfaction were self-reported.

Main Results:

• Reporting accuracy improved stepwise, from 66% to 78% across image sets.
• Participant confidence in identifying pathologies increased with more reported scans.
• A weak correlation between accuracy and confidence was observed (r_s=0.394 to 0.321).

Conclusions:

• Remote training with reporting tasks enables healthcare professionals to interpret focused echocardiograms effectively.
• Increased interpretation experience enhances both accuracy and confidence in identifying critical findings.
• The weak accuracy-confidence link warrants further investigation; remote delivery is feasible and beneficial for echocardiography education.