Multidisciplinary team production of computer-based simulations to teach pediatrics

A program of computer-assisted patient-management problems (PMPs) for teaching pediatrics at one medical school is described. The PMPs cover all clinical, laboratory, and outcome aspects, including the hazards and cost of inappropriate investigations and therapy. Some PMPs relate to individual conditions, while others (stem PMPs) relate to a symptom or sign, such as rashes or heart murmurs, in various conditions (branch PMPs). All of them require the students to make decisions to solve the problems. At each decision point, the computer provides choices or an opportunity for the student to enter a statement. The students review their performance, checking their choices against those of the instructors at each point. The simulated patient's vital signs, correlating with the selected actions and the passage of time, are obtainable throughout the PMP. The use of PMPs has begun to decrease the instructor's teaching load and to increase the students' experience of common and uncommon pediatric problems.