Evaluation of emergency medicine specialty students competence in echocardiography interpretation

This study aims to evaluate the competency of emergency medicine specialty students in interpreting echocardiography. The research was conducted at the Emergency Medicine Department of Akdeniz University Hospital, involving all emergency medicine specialty students. Participants evaluated predefined echocardiographic images using the visual estimation method and provided answers to the required questions. The results revealed variability in diagnostic accuracy across different categories, including ejection fraction, pericardial effusion, atrioventricular dimension assessment, wall motion abnormalities, and valve pathologies. Statistical analyses indicated that experience level and prior echocardiography training partially influenced performance. In this context, our study emphasizes the necessity of developing training programs aimed at enhancing echocardiographic interpretation skills among emergency medicine specialty students.