To summarize the consultation needs of residents and assess the role of teaching supervision consultation in the standardized medical resident training stage.

Residents (n=43) receiving training at ultrasound department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from August 2015 to August 2017 and cases that were consulted by these residents from November 2017 to August 2018 were included. The reasons and examination sites for consultation were summarized and teaching evaluation (technical operation, positioning, and qualitative diagnosis) was assessed on the consultant according to the pathological or clinical diagnosis. The χ² test was used to compare differences in reasons and sites for consultation by residents with different seniority or educational backgrounds, and the average scores of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for residents with less than 3 years of experience before and after teaching supervision consultation were compared.

A total of 1727 consultation cases were followed by the 43 residents. The number of consultation times accounted for 53.0% (915/1727), 42.9% (741/1727), and 4.1% (71/1727) for the first-, second-, and third-year residents, respectively. Reasons for consultation were technical operation [70.9% (1224/1727)], positioning [22.7% (392/1727)], and qualitative diagnosis [6.4% (111/1727)]. In the first-, second- and third-year residents, the percentages of residents applying for consultation were 26.9% (246/915), 18.6% (138/741), and 11.3% (8/71) for technical operation reasons; 7.8% (71/915), 4.5% (33/741), and 9.8% (7/71) for positioning reasons; and 65.3% (598/915), 76.9% (570/741), and 78.9% (56/71) for qualitative reasons, respectively; there was a significant difference in the consultation reasons between residents with different seniority (χ²=33.293, P＜0.001). The top three examination sites that were applied for consultation were gynecological [27.9% (482/1727)], superficial [23.3% (402/1727)], and abdominal organs [20.1% (347/1727)], accounting for 71.3% of all examination sites; there was a significant difference in the consultation sites between residents with different seniority (χ²=167.583, P＜0.001). The main reasons for consultation in junior residents were qualitative analysis and the technical operation of abdominal and pelvic organs, while for senior residents, qualitative analysis of superficial lesions was the main reason. The distribution of consultation sites applied by residents with different educational backgrounds was significantly different (χ²=64.942, P＜0.001), while there was no significant difference in the distribution of consultation reasons (χ²=8.131, P=0.087). The average number of consultation times was similar for residents with different educational backgrounds. Approximately 97.7% (383/392) of the technical operation problems were solved through consultation. The accuracy of consultant for positioning and qualitative diagnosis was 73.0% (81/111) and 92.7% (1135/1224), respectively. The residents' OSCE score after teaching supervision consultation was significantly higher than that before teaching supervision consultation (85.7±6.6 vs 75.7±7.5, t=-2.426, P=0.036).

With the increase in the seniority of residents, the frequency of consultation decreases. The consultation reasons and sites are different among residents with different seniority. The number of residents applying for consultation due to technical operation is decreasing while the qualitative demand is increasing year by year. Teaching supervision consultation proves to be effective in helping residents solve technical operation difficulties and determine the location and nature of lesions, and improving the clinical competence of residents.