Med Sim Studio: An Open-Access Simulation Platform for Running and Sharing Dynamic Display of Patient Data in Package Scenarios

Abstract

Background/Objectives Specialized software may augment in-situ simulation, remote learning, oral boards preparation, and personalized remediation through simulation. Simulation educators often lack access to simulation software that meets their needs because existing software packages are cost prohibitive, have design gaps, or are not user friendly. Additionally, educators require the ability to easily author their own customized cases and share them with colleagues via an integrated software platform. Methods A needs assessment was performed by interviewing simulation educators, residents, medical students, and residency assistant program directors. Based on this, the software platform Med Sim Studio was developed to include vital sign monitoring, hundreds of high-resolution medical images, a video ultrasound library, documentation, evaluation tools, packaged cases reflecting the core EM curriculum, case authoring and sharing ability, and an easy-to-use interface. Over the course of a year and a half, the software was programmed using C++ on Microsoft Visual Studio. Users can author cases which are stored as JSON data objects and can be shared via email, portable media, or retrieved through a central MySQL database. Discussion Med Sim Studio joins other free software resources for simulation with the addition of unique features including immediate access to a comprehensive suite of medical visual stimuli, automated documentation and data collection, cases pre-loaded with the relevant background information and images, and the ability to customize and share cases instantly. Med Sim Studio allows educators to propagate their own scholarship through case sharing functionality. These can be transferred online (via the embedded database functionality or through email attachments), or via portable media (such as USB drive or optical disk). The case-sharing aspect of Med Sim Studio simplifies the process for simulation educators to contribute novel cases and promote the community of medical education.