To clarify the value of clinical research engagement for the teaching quality of cardiac ultrasound standardized training by comparing the teaching effectiveness of standardized training for resident physicians integrated with clinical research participation versus conventional clinical training.

A total of 36 residents enrolled in the standardized training program of the Department of Ultrasound Medicine at Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, from September 2023 to November 2025, were randomly divided into a research training group (19 residents) and a clinical training group (17 residents). A two-stage training approach was adopted. During the basic training stage (30 clinical cardiac ultrasound cases), both groups received identical training. During the differential training stage (50 cardiac ultrasound cases), the research training group participated in research projects requiring image acquisitions (≥25 cases), whereas the clinical training group followed conventional training. After the two-stage process, two instructors scored the sectional images acquired by the residents, and the average score was calculated; inter-group score comparions were performed using independent sample t-tests. The intra-group correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the measurement accuracy of the two groups of residents relative to the supervising instructors. Residents' interest in cardiac ultrasound research was assessed and compared between the two groups via questionnaires, with differences analyzed using the χ² test.

After the basic training stage, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in either measurement accuracy (as reflected by ICC for all parameters) or view scores (3.29±0.49 vs 3.27±0.48, P＞0.05) . After the differential training stage, the research group demonstrated superior ICC values compared to the clinical group for left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, left ventricular end-systolic dimension, left ventricular outflow tract dimension, mitral annulus a-wave, biplane left ventricular ejection fraction, left atrial volume, and global longitudinal strain. Additionally, the research training group achieved significantly higher view scores than the clinical training group (3.63±0.25 vs 3.43±0.27, t=2.308, P=0.027). After completion of both training stages, the research training group exhibited a significantly greater interest in ultrasound clinical research than the clinical training group (73.7% vs 29.4%, χ²=7.442, P=0.024).

Participation in cardiac ultrasound clinical research can significantly enhance residents' image view standardization and measurement accuracy, as well as increase their research interests, thereby improving the overall teaching effectiveness of standardized training.