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Maternal‐Fetal Medicine Fellowship 3‐ and 4‐Dimensional Ultrasound Experience
Author(s) -
Ness Amen,
Blumenfeld Yair J.,
Platt Lawrence D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1550-9613
pISSN - 0278-4297
DOI - 10.7863/ultra.32.6.949
Subject(s) - medicine , ultrasound , mentorship , maternal fetal medicine , ultrasonography , medical physics , radiology , obstetrics , medical education , obstetrics and gynaecology , pregnancy , genetics , biology
Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess maternal‐fetal medicine (MFM) fellowship 3‐ and 4‐dimensional (3D/4D) ultrasound experience and training. Methods A 53‐item prenatal diagnosis survey was emailed to 458 associate members of the Society for Maternal‐Fetal Medicine. Associate members include both MFM fellows and recent graduates who are not yet board certified in MFM. Results A total of 148 associate members completed the survey (32% response rate); 92% were at least in their second year of a fellowship, and 48.1% had completed a fellowship. About half (50.8%) were capable of performing 3D/4D ultrasound examinations (“performers”), whereas 49.2% were not (“nonperformers”). Among performers, about 80% were capable of only basic image acquisition. Overall, 39.5% of respondents received no official 3D/4D ultrasound training, and 55.5% stated that fewer than 1 in 5 of their MFM faculty routinely performed 3D/4D ultrasound examinations. Compared with performers, nonperformers had less formal 3D/4D ultrasound training (53% versus 26%; P = .018) and fewer MFM faculty who performed 3D/4D ultrasound examinations (43% versus 68%; P = .005), and fewer nonperformers were taught by ultrasound mentors (25% versus 47.8%; P = .011). Conclusion Most fellows are not trained in 3D/4D ultrasound. Greater emphasis on ultrasound mentorship and formalized ultrasound training by MFM faculty during fellowships is needed.