Evaluation of An Interactive Virtual Patient Database to teach Patient Management and Prescribing

Problem

Medical students should, on completion of their training, be competent at managing patients and prescribing safely. In the latter part of their training, it is an educational challenge to move them from knowledge-based competencies to more complex skills. Virtual Patients can assist with bridging this gap, as they allow students to progress to the higher orders of learning by “doing” in vitro without the risk of causing harm, and thus to gain both confidence and skills that can be transferred to use in vivo. At the School of Medicine at University College Dublin, it was felt that the addition of a teaching modality using Virtual Patients would greatly benefit Final Year medical students’ skills in patient management and prescribing.Pre and post-module self-rated competency questionnaires, and pre and post-module objective tests were collected for approximately 240 students over the course of one academic year. Data is in the process of being analysed.ConsequencesFull data analysis is needed to objectively determine the effectiveness of this new teaching tool, and whether further development is needed.

Approach

A Virtual Patient-based teaching modality was introduced to an existing six-week Community Medicine module in Final year of Medicine, taught jointly by General Practice and Medicine for the Elderly. The new modality utilized a Patient Management Software System used in the clinical setting in many countries including Ireland, mostly in Primary Care. This system contained an extensive database of Virtual Patients, and the option to create multiple new patients. Virtual Cases were created with the students’ learning needs in mind, with accompanying tailor-made video consultations. Students utilised the Electronic Health Records within the database and “managed” their Virtual Patients in small groups, and subsequently convened in interactive workshops with a tutor. Although Virtual Patients are in widespread use in medical education, the literature has not revealed any other instances of an authentic Patient Management Software System being used in this manner. An evaluation was conducted of this new modality, to assess whether it was effective at improving students’ competencies in patient management, prescribing, and utilising Patient Management Software Sytems. Anonymised self-rated competency questionnaires and an objective test were distributed to all students in Final Year before and after the module.

Findings

Pre and post-module self-rated competency questionnaires, and pre and post-module objective tests were collected for approximately 240 students over the course of one academic year. Data is in the process of being analysed.

Consequences

Full data analysis is needed to objectively determine the effectiveness of this new teaching tool, and whether further development is needed.