Implementing and Evaluating a Scenario Builder Tool for Pediatric Virtual Patients

Baccalaureate nursing students have few opportunities to practice patient interaction be-fore they reach their clinical experiences. Traditional practice opportunities include roleplay and interviews with paid actors (called standardized patients). Unfortunately, neither of these methods realistically simulates many of the patient interactions that nurses will encounter on a daily basis. Virtual patients are computer simulations that behave in the same way that an actual patient would in a medical context. Since these characters are simulated, they can provide realistic yet repetitive practice in patient interaction since they can represent a wide range of patients and each scenario can be practiced until the student achieves competency. However, the development costs for virtual patients are high, since creation of a single scenario may take up to nine months. In this work, we present a virtual patient platform that reduces development costs. The SIDNIE (Scaffolded Interviews Developed by Nurses in Education) system can adapt a single scenario to multiple levels of learners and supports the selection of multiple learning goals. We have shown that SIDNIE is effective for learning [Dukes et al., 2013]. We designed and evaluated a scenario-builder tool that enables nursing faculty to create their own scenarios for SIDNIE, without the aid of a computer scientist. Additionally, we showed that scenarios created using this system could be effective for teaching nursing students verbal communication skills by conducting a user study with freshman nursing students

Improving Student Dentist Competencies and Perception of Difficulty in Delivering Care to Children with Developmental Disabilities Using a Virtual Patient Module

An interactive, multimedia, virtual patient module was designed and developed on compact disc (CD-ROM) to address the need for student dentists to increase their competence and decrease their perception of difficulty in caring for children with developmental disabilities. A development team consisting of pediatric dentistry faculty members, parents of children with developmental disabilities, an individual with a developmental disability, and educational specialists developed an interactive virtual patient case. The case involved a ten-year-old child with Down syndrome presenting with a painful tooth. Student dentists were required to make decisions regarding proper interactions with the child, as well as appropriate clinical procedures throughout the case. Differences in perceived difficulty level and knowledge change were measured, as well as the student dentists\u27 overall satisfaction with the learning experience. Significant results were obtained in both perceived difficulty level and knowledge-based measures for student dentists. Participants reported overall satisfaction with the modules. Preparing student dentists to provide sensitive and competent care for children with developmental disabilities is a critical need within dentistry. This study demonstrated that an interactive, multimedia (CD-ROM), virtual patient learning module for student dentists is potentially an effective tool in meeting this need

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Pblcloud Virtual Patient Simulator: Enhancing Immersion Through Natural Language Processing

PBLCLOUD VIRTUAL PATIENT SIMULATOR: ENHANCING IMMERSION THROUGH NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING Pierre Martin M.Ed.(1), Lisa DelSignore M.D.(2), and Traci A. Wolbrink M.D. M.P.H.(2) (1)Yale School of Medicine (2)From the Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain Management, Boston Children’s Hospital and the Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. (Sponsored by JH, Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine) Virtual patient simulation has been utilized to teach interviewing skills, often employing selection-based methods (e.g., multiple-choice lists and menu-based prompts) to simulate doctor-patient conversations. Users have evaluated these systems as inauthentic, which can diminish user immersion (influenced by control, realism, distraction and sensory factors) and, in turn, negatively affect skill acquisition, mastery and transfer. Our objectives were to design and develop PBLCloud, a scenario-based and highly interactive platform that uses natural language processing to support a more realistic doctor-patient conversation and create an immersive clinical learning environment. PBLCloud was developed utilizing an iterative design thinking process and its initial evaluation involved a mixed methods approach. We recruited a convenience sample of 11 participants: three (27%) fourth-year medical students from Harvard Medical School as well as two (18%) residents, four (36%) fellows and two (18%) attendings from Boston Children’s Hospital. There were two rounds of formative evaluation testing with eight participants in Round 1 and three participants in Round 2. Each participant completed a semi-structured think–aloud protocol exploring our pilot case, 10-item system usability scale (SUS) and 10-item open-ended questionnaire. The chat-based functionality provides users with computer-generated context-specific responses during the historical encounter. Users have the opportunity to perform physical examinations, review incorporated multimedia, order and interpret diagnostic investigations, order therapeutic interventions that have appropriate effects on patient vitals and laboratory data, formulate and refine a differential diagnosis, receive just-in-time feedback regarding user-initiated actions and complete embedding learning exercises. 73% of participants strongly agreed that PBLCloud was useful (i.e., it is clinically-oriented, realistic, provides helpful feedback and is widely applicable) and 64% of participants strongly agreed that their experience with the system was enjoyable (i.e., it is relevant with an engaging interface). It was deemed to be more interactive and engaging than other simulators and 82% of participants were very interested in utilizing the system in the future. The average SUS score for Round 1 and 2 were 79.7 ± 12.0 and 82.5 ± 19.8 respectively. Areas of improvement were identified, in particular, the unsatisfactory response accuracy of the chat-based functionality. Future work will include the investigation of various strategies to optimize the platform’s natural language processing algorithm as well as the formal evaluation of the system’s validity, reliability, level of induced user immersion and educational impact. We anticipate that PBLCloud will serve as a cost-effective and scalable approach for the instruction and assessment of clinical reasoning

Estudio piloto de diseño de un sitio web para el bienestar de cuidadores de niños con parálisis cerebral

The objective is to present a website designed to improve the quality of life of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy and show data concerning its usefulness. The website was developed in accordance with scientific literature about caregivers' burden. We organized the website around different sections (e.g. family communication, learning to relax) and social support forums. The interactive features of the site were designed to accommodate different caregivers' needs and enable them to choose different pathways according to their own individual needs. Participants were 10 caregivers who took part in a pilot study and completed a questionnaire to analyze the usefulness of the website after five months using it. Preliminary results suggested that the website was useful for participants. The most useful sections were the 'peer-to-peer' and the professional forums. This study shows the potential of an online intervention for parents of children with cerebral palsy.El objetivo del artículo es presentar un sitio web diseñado para mejorar la calidad de vida de cuidadores de niños con parálisis cerebral y mostrar los datos correspondientes a su utilidad. Este sitio fue desarrollado acorde con la literatura científica sobre el tema de carga de los cuidadores y se organizó en torno a diferentes secciones (comunicación familiar, aprender a relajarse, entre otros) y foros de apoyo social. Las características interactivas del sitio fueron diseñadas para satisfacer las necesidades de los cuidadores, eligiendo diferentes caminos en función de las propias. En el estudio piloto participó una muestra de 10 cuidadores que completaron un cuestionario para analizar la utilidad del sitio web después de cinco meses de usarlo. Los resultados preliminares sugieren que este fue útil para los participantes y que las secciones de mayor utilidad fueron la denominada 'de par a par' y los foros profesionales. El presente trabajo muestra el potencial de una intervención en línea, para padres de niños con parálisis cerebral

Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2004

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2004

Virtual Reality Simulation: An Innovative Teaching Tool for Dietetics Experiential Education

This paper investigates the role of virtual reality and web technologies in the field of dietetics education. Within this frame, special emphasis is given on the building of web-based virtual learning environments so as to successfully fulfill their educational objectives. In particular, basic pedagogical methods are studied, focusing mainly on the efficient preparation, approach and presentation of learning content, and specific designing rules are presented considering the hypermedia, virtual and educational nature of this kind of applications. The paper also aims to highlight the educational benefits arising from the use of virtual reality technology in dietetics and study the emerging area of web-based dietetic simulations. Virtual reality simulation allows the visualization of data in three dimensions and provides interactive functionalities that reinforce the feeling of immersion into a computer-generated virtual world. Finally, the innovative virtual reality environment for dietetics education pedagogy and development is demonstrated

Comparing Program Compatibility for Dental Operators between Different In-office Clear Aligners Software

Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare program compatibility for dental operators between different in office clear aligners software: (3D Maestro,3shape, BlueSky bio, Plainmeca). Materials and methods: 4 in office clear aligners software: (3D Maestro,3shape, BlueSky bio, Plainmeca) were used. Ten orthodontists were recruited for the evaluation process, A total of 48 casts were used including upper and lower arches for each case. Each orthodontist made a check mark on each option in the pre-made scoring template.A check mark with YES was given a One point, and a check mark with NO was given Zero point. Results: This study revealed no statistically significant difference between the tested software regarding the first and second questions that were concerned with achieving the aims of the software and their reliability. Conclusions: There were no significant differences in tools and options regarding the software, The BlueSky bio showed easiness in manipulation and work flow due to arrangement of tools and options. Romexis 3D Ortho Studio has shown the highest results, indicating it was the most time consuming among the tested software., Maestro 3D Dental Studio order management was the most complex among the tested software, There was no statistically significant difference between the tested software regarding the first and second questions that were concerned with achieving the aims of the software and their reliability

A gamified mobile health intervention for children in day surgery care : Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Aims: To describe a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial which will evaluate the effectiveness of a gamified mobile health intervention for children in whole day surgery care. Design: A study protocol for a two-arm randomized controlled trial. Methods: Participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group (N = 62), in which patients receive routine care and play a mobile game designed for children or the control group (N = 62), in which patients receive routine care, including a mobile phone application that supports parents during the care path. The primary outcome is children's pre-operative anxiety, while the secondary outcome measures included fear and postoperative pain, along with parental satisfaction and anxiety. Data collection started in August 2020. Results: The results of the ongoing randomized controlled trial will determine whether the developed gamified mobile health intervention can be recommended for hospital use, and whether it could be used to educate children about their surgical treatment to decrease anxiety.Peer reviewe

Optimized Preoperative Planning of Double Outlet Right Ventricle Patients by 3D Printing and Virtual Reality:A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: In complex double outlet right ventricle (DORV) patients, the optimal surgical approach may be difficult to assess based on conventional two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) imaging. The aim of this study is to assess the added value of 3D printed and 3D Virtual Reality (VR) models of the heart used for surgical planning in DORV patients, supplementary to the gold standard 2D imaging modalities.METHODS: Five patients with different DORV-subtypes and high-quality CT scans were selected retrospectively. 3D prints and 3D-VR models were created. Twelve congenital cardiac surgeons and paediatric cardiologists, from three different hospitals, were shown 2D-CT first, after which they assessed the 3D print and 3D-VR models in random order. After each imaging method, a questionnaire was filled in on the visibility of essential structures and the surgical plan.RESULTS: Spatial relationships were generally better visualized using 3D methods (3D printing/3D-VR) than in 2D. The feasibility of VSD patch closure could be determined best using 3D-VR reconstructions (3D-VR 92%, 3D print 66%, and US/CT 46%, P &lt; 0.01). The percentage of proposed surgical plans corresponding to the performed surgical approach was 66% for plans based on US/CT, 78% for plans based on 3D printing, and 80% for plans based on 3D-VR visualization.CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that both 3D printing and 3D-VR have additional value for cardiac surgeons and cardiologists over 2D imaging, because of better visualization of spatial relationships. As a result, the proposed surgical plans based on the 3D visualizations matched the actual performed surgery to a greater extent.</p