487 Virtual Patients: An Effective Educational Intervention to Improve Senior House Officers' Education and Training in the Management of Child Abuse?

Abstract

As a junior doctor is often the only doctor to assess children presenting with an injury or illness to the A&E department, it is crucial that they are skilled in the identification of possible child abuse or neglect.Aim: To evaluate an interactive computer based Virtual Patient (VP) (using videos to simulate real life clinical scenarios) developed to teach paediatric Senior House Officers about the management of suspected child abuse.Methods: The VP was used to facilitate a child abuse case discussion for Paediatric Basic Specialist Trainees in Ireland. A questionnaire was developed to determine SHOs' perception of the value of the VP as an educational tool. Respondents were asked to rate their agreement with each statement on a 1 to 4 likert scale.Results: All participants (N=25) completed the questionnaire. 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the case was enjoyable, interactive and appropriate for their level of training and a valuable use of their time. Upon completion of the case, most participants reported greater self confidence in their ability to recognize (23/25) and report (24/25) cases of suspected child abuse. All participants felt that the VP helped raise their awareness of the difficulties surrounding the diagnosis and management of child abuse and enabled them to identify deficits in their knowledge.Conclusion: There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the VP. The vast majority of participants reported improvements in their knowledge, confidence and attitude towards the management of child abuse.