Video training is useful in pediatric ultrasound

It turns out video instruction could be just as useful as in-person instruction for some types of imaging training, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

According to a statement by the American Roentgen Ray Society, the study shows that pediatric ultrasound clinicians benefited from watching 10 10-minute training videos. They became more confident and skilled after watching the videos and reported positive experiences related to them.

The study followed 18 ultrasound trainees in Philadelphia and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which the study authors touted as proof that the internet videos were a useful and easy-to-access training tool that could be available to pediatric ultrasound trainees around the world.

“The web-based design of the tutorials allows integration of international pediatric radiology training communities,” the authors wrote.

And Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia radiologist Susan J. Back, MD, the study’s lead author, said in the statement the videos fill in a particular gap in this kind of ultrasound training.

“Radiology training programs need a comprehensive curriculum that includes tools for evaluation delivered in a manageable point-of-care format,” she said.