Development of a virtual patient environment to facilitate teaching of medical students

1. Development of a virtual patient environment to facilitate teaching of medical students Lester AH Critchley Anaesthesia & Intensive Care CUHK

2. Development of a virtual patient environment to facilitate teaching of medical students • Teaching Development Grant: 2005-08 • PI: Lester AH Critchley • Co.Is: Shekhar Kumta, Anthony Ho • Application: Sept 2006 • Duration: 01 Jan 2007 to 31 Dec 2008 • Award: HK$ 386,000 • Location: Teaching & Learning Resources Centre Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

3. What is a virtual patient? Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

4. Thinking behind virtual patients: • Illness & treatment take places over weeks / months / years. • Undergraduate teaching is fragment • “Snap shots” of the process • Don’t witness the whole disease process • Virtual environments allow students to follow a single patient scenario from start to end. • Patient’s history and condition is teacher controlled. Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

5. Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

6. Virtual patients can be interactive and formative “Student types in 50-100 work answer” Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

7. “Student answer” Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

8. Objectives: • Create a virtual patient (VP) to teach: • peri-operative care • Determine the best method of delivery: • Existing CUHK internet systems Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

9. Why chose peri-operative care? • 1st year surgical interns: • Preparing patients for surgery • Treating patients after surgery • Pain / nausea & vomiting / iv fluids regimens / etc • Problem of how to teach peri-operative: • Ideally - full-time 1-week attachment to anaesthetist • In practice – teaching & exposure very fragmented • Virtual Patient - help us demonstrate the whole process Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

10. Original timelines & deliverables • Create a virtual patient by July 07 • Assess performance & modify [Year 07/08] • Apply to other areas of the medical curriculum [Year 08/09] • Set up workshops on developing virtual patients Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

11. Progress report: Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

12. Main Characters • Patient: Mrs. Shirley Kwok: • Fibroids – Hysterectomy • Hypertension, Diabetes, DVT • Medical staff: • Dr. Cynthia Chan - (POAC) • Dr. Sleepwell – (anaesthetist) • Medical student Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

13. Outline of scenarios: Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

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28. Feedback • Generally well received: • “Like a drama”  • “Too much like a story” • “Needs to be more interactive” • “Questions too simple” Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

29. QUESTION: free text answer MODEL ANSWER self assessed & scored Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

30. Future • Still yet to launch the VP website: • If successful, hope to apply to other areas of the curriculum: Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

31. THE WEDDING PARTY Curriculum Retreat – Virtual Patient

32. Thank you “All the characters portrayed are totally factious and are not based on any real-life persons”.