Artikel
The Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Virtual Patient Project: Conceptual Design and Preliminary Results from the University of Heidelberg Medical Curriculum (HeiCuMed)
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Autoren
Veröffentlicht: | 5. Mai 2009 |
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Gliederung
Poster
Subject: Conceptual design and preliminary evaluation of pilot-studies within the longitudinal inter-disciplinary virtual patient project implemented into the Heidelberg University medical curriculum ”Heidelberger Curriculum Medicinale“ (HeiCuMed, http://www.heicumed.de).
Methods: A team of experts conceptualized the interdisciplinary virtual patient project based on appeals from fifth year medical students who experienced several paediatric virtual patients (focus group study, n=39). The goals of this project are:
- 1.
- To promote clinical reasoning via re-occurring concepts set up as a learning spiral within virtual patients (http://www.virtualpatients.de),
- 2.
- To depict the relevance of basic science concepts using clinical examples during preclinical medical education, and
- 3.
- To foster the transfer of basic science knowledge into clinical medical education.
In 2008, the first evaluations of two pilot studies were completed. The project is financed by tuition fees.
Results: According to students, virtual patients should be used on a weekly basis in all clinical and preclinical subjects. In 2008, two existing clinical virtual patients with themes related to preclinical concepts, were selected to be repurposed and adapted for preclinical medical education. The degree of difficulty was adjusted and the virtual patients were enriched with interactive learning content related to important and fundamental basic science principles. The results of two pilot studies evaluating these virtual patients in preclinical subjects indicate a very high acceptance of virtual patients as learning tools, and attest to a successful combination of clinical and preclinical elements. According to the students’ wishes, virtual patients will be designed for three additional subjects per year, continuing until virtual patients have been implemented into all preclinical and clinical subjects. In 2009, virtual patients for anatomy, cell biology, biochemistry, physiology, pediatric and adolescent psychiatry, neurology, surgery and gynecology will be created and integrated into the medical curriculum.
Conclusion: The establishment of the longitudinal virtual patients’ project is well under way at Heidelberg University, in accordance with appeals from students’ request. The conceptual design and first results of the project will be presented.