How to Prepare Obstetric Interns for Cardiotocography Interpretation?

Author(s): S P C Verkleij, I M de Graaf, P C A M Bakker

Background/Introduction: Cardiotocography (CTG) is an important obstetric tool to assess fetal wellbeing. Interns are exposed to a lot of fetal heart traces during their internship. Knowledge on this is gained by (undergraduate) teaching and by working with clinicians. With this prospective cohort study we aim to investigate if introducing a CTG e-learning makes interns feel better prepared and more competent in interpreting CTG.

Methods: We evaluated a 1-hour CTG e-learning containing basic principles and interpretation skills. We used anonymous evaluation questionnaires. The answers of the questionnaires were entered in and examined with IBM® SPSS® statistics version 26. Results: Students with access to the CTG e-learning felt better prepared (p=0.001), more competent (p=0.001) and were more satisfied with the education (p=0.000). Students with or without access to the e-learning scored the same on the knowledge test (p=0.504).

Conclusions: Providing a CTG e-learning at the start of the obstetrics/gynecology internship makes students feel more prepared and more competent on interpreting CTG’s. They are satisfied with the education.