Using computer-controlled interactive manikins in medical education

In the July/August issue of Medical Teacher, Jack Marshall provided an overview of various methods that have been developed to help students learn procedural skills. Here, Stephen Abrahamson and Peggy Wallace describe in detail and offer practical advice on the use of one of these techniques, computer-controlled interactive manikins-simulators which respond to what students are doing to them. The use of static simulators and simulated patients will be the subject of future articles in Medical Teacher.