Methodology in cardiologists’ postgraduate education

Abstract

Aim. To develop the methodological ware for distance cardiologists’ postgraduate education by virtual patients’ simulations. The article describes the first stage of the project to create a database of virtual patients. It includes the integration of text and multimedia clinical and diagnostic information about patients and software for its presentation. A virtual patient is considered as an informational model of the diagnostic and treatment processes.Material and methods. To create a database of virtual patients, a description of completed clinical cases in specially designed patterns was used. To provide distance access to information about virtual patients, the JavaScript was used. Results. When forming the database of virtual patients, two categories of case histories were used — the most common cases and rare disease variants. From archival case histories and examination data, information has been selected that plays a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment. It was decided to present the information in the form of separate portions-visits. Each visit includes the results of tests and specialty consultations necessary to make a decision on further treatment. In the template developed by doctors and analysts, patient information is broken down into blocks that included complaints; anamnesis; physical examination; provisional diagnosis; diagnostic and treatment plan; tests’ results; administrations; final diagnosis; clinical report. These blocks served as the basis for the development of relational database tables. To visualize information about the virtual patient, prototypes of screen forms were implemented. Information about different visits was placed on different marks, and the user is able to see previously available information.Conclusion.After testing, this software will be used in education to demonstrate complete clinical cases to students. In addition, by each virtual case, tasks that require students to make medical decisions can be formed. The technology of virtual patients can be used both for postgraduates (doctors) and medical students.