Simulation-Based Echocardiography Training Enhanced Competence and Self-Confidence in Neonatal Residents

Aim: Mastering echocardiography scans is essential in neonatology, but bedside training can be difficult due to the instability of neonatal patients. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the benefits of simulation-based training for residents learning echocardiography. Methods: This multicentre randomised controlled trial involved residents from three French neonatology departments. The authors compared a control group with theoretical and bedside training and a simulation group with additional simulation-based training. Evaluations were conducted three and 6 months after training using two scoring methods: a reference score for the quality of the echocardiographic sections and a custom-made score for recognising anatomical structures. Results: We randomised 52 residents from 1 May 2021 to 31 May 2023. After 3 months, the residents in the simulation group achieved a higher mean score than the residents in the control group for both the reference score (11.5 +/- 2.3 points vs. 7.4 +/- 3.4 points, p < 0.001) and the custom-made score (25.8 +/- 5.3 points vs. 16.9 +/- 7.8 points, p < 0.001). The difference remained significant at 6 months and the custom-made score showed good agreement with the reference score. Conclusion: Simulation-based training was a valuable approach for training neonatal residents to perform echocardiography and more extensive training courses should be developed. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06442683