Abstract: Objective To understand the current situation and training needs of auscultation technique among clinicians in China, and to inform future clinical auscultation technology education and training. Methods From February 1, 2021 to February 1, 2023, a total of 12 000 clinicians from 257 medical institutions in 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country were enrolled in this study. A questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the current status of auscultation technology application and training needs, and descriptive statistics and chi square tests were used for statistical processing. Results Among the 12 000 doctors who participated in the survey, 8 951(74.6%) physicians used stethoscopes in outpatient settings, 8 473(70.6%) physicians frequently(>5 times a week) used stethoscopes, 10 780(89.8%) physicians commonly used the lungs as the site of auscultation, and 8 284(69.0%) physicians primarily learned auscultation techniques through clinical self-learning. In addition, 3 918(32.7%) physicians believed that they were proficient in auscultation techniques, 11 390(94.9%) physicians believed that stethoscopes were important, 10 888(90.7%) physicians believed that training in stethoscopes was necessary. Conclusions Clinicians often use auscultation techniques, but have a low self-evaluation of auscultation techniques and a high demand for training. It is recommended to widely carry out standardized auscultation training.

Key words: Auscultation, Questionnaire survey, Clinical doctor, Training needs, Stethoscope