Researchers
- Jeff Wiseman, McGill U.
- Susanne P. Lajoie, McGill U.
Developper
- Emmanuel Banchard, IDU Interactive
Research Assistants
- Tara Tressel, McGill U.
Deteriorating Patient
The Deteriorating Patient (Wiseman & Snell, 2008) is a low-fidelity simulation activity that provides medical students with opportunities for deliberate practice and feedback within a safe environment. The clinical teacher takes on the role of a patient with deteriorating vital signs. Students have to decide what steps to take in treating or stabilizing the patient, and the case evolves in response to the their actions. Throughout the activity, students get the opportunity to compare their thinking to an expert as well as to more senior students. During debriefing, students are supported by the teacher in reflection on their actions during the scenario.
Current work with the Deteriorating Patient activity includes examining the role of technology in supporting the collaborative aspects of this activity (Lu & Lajoie, 2008), as well as the roles of culture and emotion: We are designing and developing the Deteriorating Patient App, a smartphone-based simulation aimed at providing medical students with repetitive practice with feedback in support of the ERRAD (Early Recognition of and Response to the Acutely Deteriorating patient) course for 4th year McGill medical students. We are in the process of examining how medical learners’ achievement emotions change as they try to “save” a simulated deteriorating patient and how these emotions interact with how they learn best. Further work on the Deteriorating Patient App will focus on adding additional functionalities to convert it into a serious online game that supports both synchronous and asynchronous feedback in addition to scoring and feedback/help mechanisms.
Related Publications
Labelle, M., Sun, N-Z., Filewood, N. & Wiseman, J. (2015). Early recognition of and response to acute deterioration (ERRAD): A theory-based method for teaching medical undergraduates acute care thinking. Canadian Conference on Medical Education.
Lu, J., Lajoie, S.P., & Wiseman, J. (2010). Scaffolding problem-based learning with CSCL tools. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning.
Lu, J., & Lajoie, S.P. (2008). Supporting medical decision making with argumentation tools. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(3), 425-442.
Wiseman, J., & Snell, L. (2008). The Deteriorating Patient: a realistic but 'low-tech' simulation of emergency decision-making. The Clinical Teacher, 5(2), 93-97.