Do gastroenterologists want to be trained in ultrasound? A national surveyof trainees in gastroenterology

Aims-(1) To establish whether gastroenterologists wish to train in abdomina l ultrasound according to the Royal College of Radiologists' document, Guid ance for the training in ultrasound of medical non-radiologists. (2) To det ermine whether the ultrasound workload generated by gastroenterologists dif fers from that by other clinicians. Methods-A postal questionnaire was sent to all 278 gastroenterology trainee s. The indications and findings of 100 consecutive gastroenterologist reque sted scans were compared with 100 scans requested sequentially by other cli nicians through a teaching hospital radiology department. Results-82% of the survey forms were returned. 77% of trainees wished to tr ain in abdominal ultrasound and 68% were prepared to train in the manner ou tlined in the guideline document. However, 86% felt that they would ideally prefer not to assess renal or pelvic pathology, restricting to hepatobilia ry diagnosis only. 73% of trainees did not anticipate that a further scan b y a radiologist would be required. Comparison of gastroenterology scans wit h those requested by other clinicians revealed a relative excess of hepatob iliary indications and findings, and a notable paucity of renal and pelvic pathology in gastroenterology practice. Conclusions-There is general interest in abdominal ultrasound training amon g gastroenterology trainees and broad acceptance of the guideline document. However, most trainees perceive a focus of training restricted to hepatobi liary disease to be most appropriate. The case mix study provides support f or this viewpoint. It is suggested that a more focused ultrasound training for gastroenterologists be considered.