Evaluation of an Online Analogical Patient Simulation Program

Medulator™, a commercial Web-based, variable response, patient simulation application, was modified to test the effect of case sequencing, explicit case comparison, and user-generated case summaries on overall user performance. METHODS: Senior medical students completed analogous sets of virtual patient cases in different sequences, and their case performance was tracked. A follow-up user satisfaction survey was conducted. RESULTS: A significant effect of case sequencing on analogy transfer was seen only with respect to correct treatment scores (p = .009). Explicit case comparison had no reliable effect on performance. However, diagnostic accuracy increased (p ≤ .002) while treatment attempts decreased (p = .05) when subjects were prompted to write case summaries. Student satisfaction with the patient simulation program was high. CONCLUSION: Manipulating case sequences and supporting explicit case comparison yielded mixed results. However, using case summaries as a tool for reflec...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: CBMS
• Authors: Gregory A. Thompson, Robert G. Morrison, Keith J. Holyoak, Terry K. Clark
• Keywords: Case Summaries, CBMS 2006, Explicit Case Comparison, Medical Imaging, User-generated Case Summaries