The Basic Training Online Program is the theoretical component of Basic Training. It is available as a program of self-study online courses in the ISUOG Academy. It provides a comprehensive introduction to essential topics on ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology, taking you through a systematic approach to the scan. On completion of the program you will have the knowledge needed to perform an unsupervised ultrasound scan, and be confident to recognise when a patient needs to be referred.
Overview
Course name: Basic Training Online Program
Duration of course: 30 hours (+ supplementary materials)
Length of access for course: 12 months
Certificates: 30 CME credits and ISUOG Certificate of Achievement
Access: Online learning, learn at your own pace, 30 fully interactive online modules
Education level: Foundation/beginner
Program language: English
Suitable for: Obstetrician and Gynecologists trainees, fellows, residents, midwives, nurses, radiographers, sonographers, GPs and healthcare professionals providing antenatal care and performing ultrasound scans.
The last practical component of the Basic Training was held on Saturday, 11 January 2025. It was delivered as a hybrid course, onsite in London and livestreamed, and you can find out more and register here, for on-demand viewing, until 11 March 2025.
"I really enjoyed the course, and have come away with lots of tips and tricks to apply in my practise."
"I learnt the basic principles accurately and systematically. Most important thing was how to navigate the probe and probe movements."
"Excellent course, great materials and interactive content. Really helped me to grasp tricky concepts with real case studies from experts around the world."
Why do this course?
The Basic Training mission is to ensure that all scan providers everywhere, gain an adequate foundation education in the use of ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology. The Basic Training program was designed to tackle the problem of low quality and varied curricula in the world today. The program content therefore focuses on standardising a basic approach to OB/GYN ultrasound using a systematic approach to make sure that the best standard of care can be offered. See our Basic Training recommendations for more advice on Basic Training.
Our Basic Training program provides a comprehensive introduction to the essential topics in ultrasound for obstetrics and gynecology, with the goal that on completion of the whole program, trainees will have the knowledge and skills to perform an unsupervised ultrasound scan, and confidently know when to refer a patient. Discover one learners experience of this course here.
Course description
The Basic Training Online Program is designed to support your practice through demonstrations, examples, clear step by step instructions and guides as well as text, illustrations, and lectures from leaders in the field. Delivered in 30 fully interactive online courses, offering you opportunities to check your knowledge as you learn, to provide you with the essential foundation for using ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology.
You will be given 12 months access to the content from when you first enrol on the course. On passing the 1 hour assessment at the end of the program, you will gain the ISUOG Certificate of Achievement, along with 30 CME credits. It is perfect for anyone who wants to develop a sound foundation for your future in the use of ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology.
Learning objectives
- Understand the fundamentals of ultrasound including the physics, scanning techniques and safety considerations.
- Know how to perform first-trimester scans, assess fetal development, and write reports.
- Conduct mid-trimester scans using a "6-step approach" to evaluate fetal growth, anatomy, and blood flow.
- Develop skills to examine fetal anatomy using the "20 + 2 Planes Approach" and identify potential abnormalities.
- Gain proficiency in gynecological ultrasound procedures, including examining the uterus, ovaries, and adnexae, and interpreting findings.
View the full syllabus here
Module 1: Principles of ultrasound and the first trimester
- Physical principles of ultrasound including safety
- Transducers knobology image production scanning planes
- The principles of Doppler ultrasound Quality control processes for operators & programmes
- Informed consent image recording & report writing
- Assessing normal and abnormal findings between 4-10 weeks in singleton & twin pregnancies
- Assessing the normal pregnancy between 10-14 weeks
Module 2: Introduction to the mid trimester scan - dating, assessment of amniotic fluid, placenta and cervix, fetal growth and Doppler
- Cervical assessment
- The 6-step approach
- Fetal biometry – dating, assessing size & estimating fetal weight
- Assessing the placenta & amniotic fluid
- Distinguishing between normal & abnormal fetal size and growth
- Umbilical and uterine artery Doppler studies
- The 20 + 2 Planes Approach to the routine mid trimester scan
- Distinguishing between normal and abnormal appearances of the fetal anatomy
Module 3: Assessing fetal anatomy in the mid trimester using the 20 + 2 planes approach
- Evaluating fetal anatomy from longitudinal sections
- Distinguishing between normal & abnormal appearances of the skull & brain
- Assessing the neck and chest
- Obtaining & interpreting heart views
- Examining the abdomen and anterior abdominal walls
- Distinguishing between normal & abnormal appearances of the urinary tract
- Distinguishing between normal & abnormal appearances of the long bones & extremities
- Examining the upper lip face & profile correctly
- Making a decision normal or not
Module 4: Gynecological ultrasound
- The basics of a gynecological ultrasound
- Examining the uterus - cervix & endometrium
- Examining the uterus – myometrium
- Examining the ovaries & adnexae
- Typical ultrasound appearances of the most common pathologies of the adnexae
- Writing the gynecological ultrasound report
"It covered all the way from basics of ultrasound to clinical performance of 20+2 planes."
"GIFs and images of scans throughout demonstrating both normal and abnormal findings. I personally found these short snippets more useful than the live scan demonstrations on the whole, although, I concede that the latter were very helpful as I was just starting to learn the basics."
"I enjoyed the fact that I could access the course anytime and learn at my own pace."
Basic Training Subcommittee and contributers to this course
The ISUOG Basic Training program was developed by, and is maintained by the Basic Training Subcommittee. A list of all the volunteers who have offered their time and commitment to developing the Basic Training syllabus over the years is found in the introduction to this online course, and also on our website.
Prices
Prices for ISUOG members
| ISUOG member | £330 |
| ISUOG member - with trainee/sonographer discount | £240 |
| ISUOG member in middle-income setting | £100 |
| ISUOG member in lower-resource setting | £5 |
Prices for ISUOG non-members*
| Non-member | £360 |
| Non-member - with trainee/sonographer discount | £260 |
| Non-member in middle-income setting | £115 |
| Non-member in lower-resource setting | £10 |
* Prices for non-members does NOT include ISUOG membership. Join as an ISUOG member first for discounted prices to our online training courses (allow 24 hours for systems to update).
Terms and Conditions
You can find our full Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Policy here.
You can find our Refund Policy here.
You must be an ISUOG member to get a discounted price and additional resources; or simply subscribe to our newsletter to access the Basic Training Online Program at the non-member price.
Please note: You will get a receipt from the online shop after purchase which can be used for your accounts and expenses, we do not offer additional invoices for ecommerce products.
Trainees/residents and sonographers/radiographers
Proof of status: All trainees, residents, sonographers and radiographers will need to submit proof of their trainee, resident, sonographer or radiographer status by way of a letter from their Department or Institution. The letter must be in English and dated within the last 3 months and submitted by email to [email protected] along with the name of the course you wish to purchase.
Sonographer definition: A sonographer is a non-physician medical imaging professional who performs diagnostic medical sonography, or diagnostic ultrasound.
Trainee/resident definition: A trainee is a medical professional who is not yet fully qualified or practicing without supervision within their chosen specialty and in accordance with the relevant national regulatory authorities; a resident is in residency training which leads to specially or subspecialty) certification.
Low resource country discount
ISUOG's mission is to disseminate the highest quality education to the broadest audience. To support this aim, we have ensured that attendees based in, currently residing in, or currently working in low resource countries have the lowest purchase costs. ISUOG's low resource country list can be viewed here https://www.research4life.org/access/eligibility/.
No other discounts can be used in conjunction with this rate. These rates will appear automatically in the ISUOG Academy based on your membership details, or registered details. Please make sure these details are up to date.
Middle income country discount
ISUOG's mission is to disseminate the highest quality education to the broadest audience. To support this aim, we have ensured that attendees based in, currently residing in, or currently working in middle income countries have access to reduced purchase costs. ISUOG has identified the following countries whose economies fall within the middle income category as defined by the World Bank: American Samoa, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic , India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan.
No other discounts can be used in conjunction with this rate. These rates will appear automatically in the ISUOG Academy based on your membership details, or registered details. Please make sure these details are up to date.
"I will perform ultrasound scans in a more systematic manner and reporting will also be more systematic and comprehensive which will be useful to the patient as well as other colleagues as well."
"The methodology given makes my practice easier when seeing patients. I used to do it in a different manner before."
"I wanted to refresh the basics and build a strong foundation to my practical knowledge in ultrasound."
Further information
Accreditation and CME credits
CME credits
The European Accreditation Council (EACCME) accredits this online course for Continuing Medical Education (CME). 30 European CME credits (ECMEC®) will be awarded on successful completion of this course. Through an agreement between the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA), physicians may convert EACCME credits to an equivalent number of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Information on the process to convert EACCME credit to AMA credit can be found at www.ama-assn.org/go/internationalcme.
CME Subcommittee
The CME Subcommittee oversees the CME requirements for our CME accredited courses.
Conflict of Interest
No commercial support has been accepted related to the development or publication of this course. This course underwent peer review in line with the standards of editorial integrity and publication ethics maintained by the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology (ISUOG). Conflicts of interest have been identified and resolved in accordance with EACCME guidelines.
Technical requirements
You can study on your phone, tablet or laptop. To participate and access this activity you will need a good internet connection and an up to date browser:
- MS Internet Explorer 11 (Not including compatibility modes)
- MS Edge
- Mozilla Firefox version 60 Extended Support Release (ESR)
- Google Chrome 73
- Safari 10 auf OS X
- Mobile Browser Android >4 and iOS > 9
- Current versions of Adobe Reader plugin
ISUOG BTOP Certificate
This course offers you the ISUOG Certificate of Achievement, which is not accredited by an external body. It also offeres you a CME credit certificate which is accredited by EACCME. To gain these certificates, and earn 30 CME credits you must pass the 1 hour assessment at the end of this course and complete the evaluation form.
To pass the assessment you need a score of 70% or more, and you will be offered 3 attempts to do this. After completing the evaluation form, you will gain access to your certificate which you can find in the syllabus area of the course, or under ‘My Learning’, ‘Completed’ then click the certificate icon next to any completed courses you wish to download the certificates for. This will download the ISUOG Certificate and the CME Certificate into your downloads folder as one PDF file.
"It will improve my skills in assessing the female pelvis, ovarian stimulation monitoring as a fertility specialist and also fetal growth monitoring as an obstetrician."
"I did this course to help demonstrate my dedication to OBGYN training at an early stage, although, this material will of course be invaluable when I am hopefully accepted onto the formal training programme."