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A multimedia patient simulation for teaching and assessing endodontic diagnosis
John H Littlefield1, Elaine L Demps, Karl Keiser
1Department of Academic Informatics Services, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA. Littlefield@uthscsa.edu
Journal of Dental Education
|July 15, 2003
Summary
Multimedia patient simulations offer a promising solution for teaching and assessing endodontic diagnostic skills. SimEndo I demonstrated potential for reproducible scoring and accurate diagnosis in dental students.
Area of Science:
- Dental Education
- Medical Simulation
Background:
- Teaching and assessing diagnostic skills in endodontics is challenging due to limited clinical experience and faculty shortages.
- Patient simulations can provide structured diagnostic tasks, feedback, and practice opportunities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development and initial evaluation of SimEndo I, a multimedia patient simulation for endodontic diagnosis.
- To assess the usability, scoring reliability, and diagnostic accuracy of the simulation.
Main Methods:
- SimEndo I, a multimedia patient simulation program, was developed with a graphical interface for presenting patient information.
- Pilot testing with 74 dental students informed user interface improvements.
- A multi-school field test with 3 patient cases evaluated student feedback, scoring reproducibility, and diagnostic accuracy.
Main Results:
- Students rated SimEndo I highly (mean 8.1/10).
- Five simulation cases are estimated to yield a reliable diagnostic proficiency score (0.80 reliability).
- Mean correct diagnosis scores ranged from 0.54 to 0.78 across cases.
Conclusions:
- Multimedia patient simulations like SimEndo I are a viable tool for enhancing endodontic diagnostic education and assessment.
- The simulation shows potential for providing reliable and accurate measures of student diagnostic proficiency.