Abstract
Ultrasonography has a vital place in British fertility units, where it is commonly performed by nurses. This study evaluated the place of an ultrasonography simulator (Ultrasim) in ultrasonography training particularly for fertility nurses. Thirty-one participants took part in evaluation of the ultrasound simulator—two doctors, two ultrasonographers, and 27 fertility nurses and midwives with varying level of ultrasonography expertise. After using the simulator, participants were asked to give their opinion on the realism of the simulator and its potential as a training tool. All the 29 responding participants reported that the mannequin was easy to scan and suitable for training. Most participants found the mannequins (29 of 31 respondents) and transducer handling (27 of 29 respondents) to be satisfactory or greater than satisfactory. All 31 participants were satisfied with the image recognition training ability. Most participants felt that Ultrasim has a place in ultrasound training (29 of 31 respondents). Compared with ultrasound machines used routinely in fertility clinics this study suggests that the Ultrasim simulator has realistic controls and image quality with a place in the future training of fertility nurses.
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