Nichols Molly M, Draper Jane, Webb Jessica
Cardiology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, GBR.
Cureus. 2024 Jul 29;16(7):e65630. doi: 10.7759/cureus.65630. eCollection 2024 Jul.
With echocardiography standing as the most widely used cardiac imaging modality, echocardiography report interpretation is a core responsibility of junior doctors. The literature, however, reveals a deficit in echocardiography education. The implications of this for patient care should not be ignored. To address this need, a hybrid teaching session was developed for junior (intern and resident grade) doctors, with the aim to increase understanding of echocardiography and increase confidence in report interpretation. Pre- and post-session data were analysed. Results revealed that the vast majority of respondents received less than an hour of echocardiography teaching at medical school, with over two-thirds receiving less than an hour in the postgraduate setting. A total of 80% of doctors interpreted echocardiography reports weekly, with almost all doctors perceiving this skill as important. Despite this, an overwhelming majority of doctors did not feel confident interpreting reports. The educational intervention achieved significant increases in perceived understanding of echocardiography and confidence with report interpretation. Participants were better able to identify cardiac pathology and understand report terminology. This intervention has the scope to improve patient safety through better management of cardiac patients and recognition of pathology from echocardiography. This work also identifies a need for more echocardiography education, having uncovered a concerning lack of confidence amongst junior doctors and an appetite for further teaching on this important topic.
超声心动图是目前应用最为广泛的心脏成像方式，解读超声心动图报告是初级医生的核心职责。然而，文献显示超声心动图教育存在不足。这对患者护理的影响不容忽视。为满足这一需求，我们为初级（实习医生和住院医生级别）医生开展了一次混合式教学课程，旨在增进他们对超声心动图的理解，并增强他们解读报告的信心。我们对课前和课后的数据进行了分析。结果显示，绝大多数受访者在医学院接受的超声心动图教学时间不足一小时，超过三分之二的人在研究生阶段接受的相关教学时间也不足一小时。共有80%的医生每周都会解读超声心动图报告，几乎所有医生都认为这项技能很重要。尽管如此，绝大多数医生在解读报告时仍缺乏信心。此次教育干预显著提高了医生对超声心动图的理解以及解读报告的信心。参与者能够更好地识别心脏病变并理解报告术语。通过对心脏病患者的更好管理以及从超声心动图中识别病变，这项干预措施有改善患者安全的空间。这项工作还表明需要更多的超声心动图教育，因为发现初级医生中存在令人担忧的信心不足问题，并且他们对这一重要主题的进一步教学有需求。
