Study of the Impact of Virtual Patient Designs on the Reasoning Pattern and Therapeutic Decision Making

Decision Making Clinical Trial

— VPtdl-rct1  

Official title:

Study of the Impact of How the Virtual Patient's Anamnesis is Designed on the Reasoning Pattern and Therapeutic Decision Making

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00474474
• Other study ID #: VP-02-001
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: May 16, 2007
• Last updated: May 16, 2007
• Start date: February 2007
• Est. completion date: March 2007

Study information

• Verified date: May 2007
• Source: Karolinska Institutet
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Sweden: Regional Ethical Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

There is a lack of evidence of the impact of the information provided in the introduction screen on the students diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. The reasoning pattern may also be altered if positive findings are provided to the student without an active request for it.

The results will be of importance when virtual patients are used for assessing students.

Description:

The problem-solving approach is found in virtual patient designs concerned with teaching clinical reasoning and diagnosis. Generally the student has to collect a range of information, usually from menus of possible history questions, physical examination, and lab tests, and make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions based on their findings. The information is not cued - the student have to decide what is relevant. An introduction screen is shown to the student when the virtual patient is initiated. Case author have used it differently - some entered a complete chief complaint and part of anamnesis findings while other have not disclosed anything about the patient. There is a lack of evidence of the impact of the information provided in the introduction screen on the students diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. The reasoning pattern may also be altered if positive findings are provided to the student without an active request for it.

The results will be of importance when virtual patients are used for assessing students.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 58
• Est. completion date: March 2007
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• All the students enrolled in the comprehensive dentistry course at the time of the study (2007)

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Double-Blind

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Computer-Assisted
• Decision Making

Intervention

Procedure:
• Virtual patient is NOT introduced

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Sweden	School of dentistry, Karolinska Institutet	Stockholm

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Karolinska Institutet

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Sweden, 

References & Publications (1)

Zary N, Johnson G, Boberg J, Fors UG. Development, implementation and pilot evaluation of a Web-based Virtual Patient Case Simulation environment--Web-SP. BMC Med Educ. 2006 Feb 21;6:10. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	therapeutic decision making		1 hour
Secondary	Medical history reasoning (required/unnecessary)		1 hour
Secondary	Time allocation to the different phases in solving a VP		1 hour

External Links

•   Project website