Evaluation of training for undergraduate medical students in gynecological ultrasonography skills

Abstract

The integration of ultrasound training into various clinical courses for undergraduate medical education is slowly expanding. We evaluated an ultrasound training program to enhance the integration of ultrasound education into the curricula of various medical colleges. A total of 202 fifth-year medical students participated in ultrasound training sessions. Performance assessments comprised subjective pre- and post-training evaluation surveys completed by the students, along with an objective assessment by the trainers at the end of the training sessions. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test was used to evaluate the differences between pre- and post-training survey questions, with p<0.05 considered significant. All tests were found to be p<0.0001, indicating significantly better post-training evaluation scores. In the objective assessment (maximum score: 110), the median total score given to students was 106, reflecting the trainers’ satisfaction with the students’ performance. In conclusion, the training program in the study was successfully conducted by four instructors, completed in eight training sessions over a 2-week period. Some medical colleges express concern regarding insufficient time and limited resources to incorporate ultrasound training into their educational programs. The present study provides a straightforward and effective training approach within the available faculty resources and curricular time.