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Introduction of basic obstetrical ultrasound screening in undergraduate medical education

  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusion

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

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Acknowledgments

The authors of the paper would like to thank the committee of the Teach-the-Teacher program for inspiring us to improve the standard of medical education. We also would like to thank all the students for submitting their feedback that lead to the accomplishment of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, 66421, Homburg, Germany

    A. Hamza, E. -F. Solomayer, Z. Takacs, I. Juhasz-Boes, R. Joukhadar, J. C. Radosa, R. Mavrova & G. Meyberg-Solomayer

  2. Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Homburg University Medical Centre, Homburg, Germany

    W. Marc & T. Volk

Authors
  1. A. Hamza
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  2. E. -F. Solomayer
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  3. Z. Takacs
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  4. I. Juhasz-Boes
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  5. R. Joukhadar
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  6. J. C. Radosa
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  7. R. Mavrova
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  8. W. Marc
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  9. T. Volk
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  10. G. Meyberg-Solomayer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Hamza.

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Funding

The study and manuscript were funded by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Saarland.

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Hamza, A., Solomayer, E.F., Takacs, Z. et al. Introduction of basic obstetrical ultrasound screening in undergraduate medical education. Arch Gynecol Obstet 294, 479–485 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-015-4002-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-015-4002-9

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