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VIRTUAL
NURSERY INTERACTIVE COMPUTER PROGRAM Mary C. Ottolini MD, MPH and Susan
McCune MD, Children's National Medical Center Objective: To develop
realistic clinical simulations to teach medical students information within the
context with which they will apply it in practice. We are developing and evaluating
a case-based interactive CD-ROM program to teach students to discern signs and
symptoms that differentiate common newborn problems.
Method: The cases
are organized and presented using Authorware as the basic software authoring program.
In discussing pathophysiology, small animation movies have been created in Flash.
Results: The design of the cases emphasizes clinical reasoning, formulation
of a differential diagnosis and a firm understanding of the pathophysiologic basis
of the disorder. After the chief complaint, the trainee is prompted to select
all potential diagnoses. Trainees are then asked to collect history, physical
and laboratory data, and they are asked to limit the differential diagnosis after
each step. They receive feedback in each section.. Cases of neonatal jaundice
serve as typical presentations of common and potentially dangerous diagnoses if
not appropriately diagnosed and managed. The computer gives the “expert” version,
describing the key features of the case are and how they relate to the differential.
The trainee views the physical exam on the newborn, by clicking on different parts
of the exam, viewing video and still clips as well as listening to heart and lung
sounds. Finally the student selects and receives feedback as to the most appropriate
lab/radiological tests. In addition students can refresh their knowledge of key
basic science principles by clicking to view animated tutorials depicting biochemical
or pathophysiologic processes.
Conclusions: The program evaluation
is in progress and consists of comparing scores on paper cases and a standardized
patient exam between groups of students who complete the computer cases and those
who are in the traditional curriculum. |
