Infoway VP Student Challenge outline

David ToppsJanet Tworek

Objectives

• This short overview provides you with information about virtual patients, what they are, some material on how to create them, and what help you might need.

• It links to examples from our series on ‘Using EMRs in Patient Interviews’

Disclaimer

• No students were harmed in the making of this material, although some faculty and cookies were lightly maimed.

• All tools are free. • All material is Creative Commons licensed.

What the heck is a Virtual Patient?

• What a VP is not:–Not virtual reality

or virtual world• Try a Virtual Patient

about Virtual Patients

The EMR is just a tool

• So why would I want to spend time on this?• Learn to communicate well while

using an EMR and...

The Perils and Pitfalls of Power Tools

• Bandsaws and hammers?• We tried to illustrate in our case examples

how using an EMR requires knowledge of more than just where to click.

So why aren’t we working directly with an EMR?

• Better focus on clinical case• Better feedback• Better assessment of strengths

and weaknesses

Do I need programming skills?

• No you don’t

Do I need help?

• In many ways, kohai, but...• Not for your good stories and

cases• Yes for building the fancy stuff

such as EMR interface links

Who would be able to help?

• A computer savvy person with some skills in HTML

Is the software free?

• Yes, all the software mentioned here is available for free.

How do I get started?

• Take a look at our case examples• Find out more about VPs in general

– This page is about OpenLabyrinth but the principles apply to all VPs.

• Think of good cases or stories• Find out more about

the VUE concept mapping tool

How do I get my case from storyboard to full Virtual Patient?

• Basic steps are not hard• But there are some wee

frustrations• Early phases are a bit geeky• Creating a full case with fancy

EMR interface is harder