Comparison of Lecturebased and CDbased Ultrasound and FAST Training for Medical Interns in Emergency Wards

Background: Various training methods such as lecturebased and mediaaided methods are employed to train focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) technique during internship period. The current study aimed at comparing the efficacy of lecturebased and CDbased approaches among medical interns in emergency wards. Methods: The current comparative study was conducted on 128 interns randomly assigned into two training groups. The first group (n = 64) was trained through a onehour training program based on CD in a single session, and the other group (n = 64) was trained through a onehour facetoface slidebased session. Before and immediately after the training sessions, the participants were asked to answer the questions about the FAST technique. Also, the questionnaires were emailed to the participants one month later. Results: The mean assessment score was significantly higher in the group trained through the lecturebased method compared with the ones trained with the CDbased method immediately (P lt;0.001) and one month (P = 0.003) after training. With regard to practical training, the subjects trained through the lecturebased method achieved higher assessment scores than the ones trained through the CDbased method (P = 0.042). A significant increase in the mean assessment score was noted immediately after training (P = 0.023), while a significant reduction in the mean score was found one month after training (P = 0.015) in both groups. Conclusion: The use of the lecturebased approach for FAST training was more effective than the CDbased approach among emergency ward interns.