Family Medicine Residents' Confidence in Performing a Basic Obstetric Ultrasound at Primary Health Care Centres in Qassim Province, Saudi Arabia

Background The family medicine (FM) specialty is a link between the community and the hospital. FM residents performing ultrasounds, detecting problems early, and suggesting appropriate health intervention will reduce time and improve maternal health care as per the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) and Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. The study's objectives are to find out the confidence of FM residents about basic ultrasound performance and the barriers associated with obstetric ultrasound at primary health care centers (PHCCs). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing a self-administered questionnaire distributed via Google Forms from June 2024 to October 2024. A total of 62 FM residents were invited to participate, resulting in a response rate of 80.64% (n = 50). Data analysis was performed using SPSS v. 21.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, US), where descriptive statistics were computed for continuous variables. Additionally, the chi-square test was employed to examine the relationship between residents' confidence in their psychomotor skills and the categorical variables of gender and residency level. Results In the current study, about 56% (n=28) received obstetric ultrasound (OBUS) training. Roughly 68% (n=34) were neutral about their confidence regarding the psychomotor skills associated with OBUS, and 6% (n=3) reported feeling confident in those skills. Nearly 24% (n=12) were cited as being uncertain about their confidence in OBUS's psychomotor skills; 9 residents were junior, and only 3 out of 12 were senior. Regarding the barriers encountered while performing OBUS, approximately 93.8% (n = 46) of residents reported a lack of training while 73% (n = 35) cited patient overload and insufficient trained instructors at the facility. In terms of suggestions from FM residents to improve their practice, 26.5% (n = 17) highlighted the necessity for additional obstetric ultrasound (OBUS) training, followed by 14% (n = 9) emphasizing the importance of having qualified doctors for OBUS instruction. Conclusions Based on the study results, FM residents require training, resource materials provision, specialist doctor training, and periodical retraining, as OBUS is a skill development procedure. According to the responses, senior residents tend to feel more assured in performing OBUS than their junior counterparts, likely due to their extensive practice and exposure.