Background: We previously completed a single center study using 3 targeting tasks demonstrating that a subject’s performance correlated well with their level of experience. Here we report two additional tasks and the results of a multi-center study investigating the correlation between level of experience and performance on all 5 targeting tasks.
Methods: Echogenic targets made from wooden dowels, plastic straws, and wooden balls were placed in a water filled bucket covered with simulated skin made from ballistic gelatin. The five targeting tasks involved serial needle touches of the targets and required participants to use the core guidance skills outlined by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine including in-plane and out-of-plane guidance; and probe translation, rotation, and oblique standoff techniques. Completion time, targeting errors, and error adjusted completion time (5 second penalty/error) were compared between 30 inexperienced (residents and junior MFM fellows) and 26 experienced providers (MFM faculty and senior fellows) from 3 different centers using a Mann-Whitney test.
Results: The raw completion time was similar for all tasks. The number of errors and error-adjusted completion time were not different in the out-of-plane task but were lower in the experienced providers for the remaining 4 tasks by an average of 11 errors and 151 seconds.
Discussions: Except for the out-of-plane task, performance correlated well with level of experience. Although further validation is necessary, these findings suggest our curriculum may be useful in teaching trainees to perform ultrasound guided invasive procedures.
Keywords: Assessment, Curriculum Development/Evaluation, Simulation
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2017, Resident, Faculty, Patient Care, GME, Assessment, Simulation, Maternal-Fetal Medicine,
Joshua Nitsche, MD, PhD, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of OB/GYN, Wake Forest School of Medicine; Kristina Shumard, MD; Brian Brost, MD
