Simulation & Virtual Learning Environments

An exciting new component of medical education is the developing world of screen based simulations and learning in immersive environments. Through these new technologies, instructors can bring learners into online scenarios involving virtual patients and online teams from their locations anywhere in the world. In the online “Fresh Air for Mom” course for obstetricians, for example, participants explore three virtual environments where they identify air quality hazards and learn about the risks that they present to the unborn children of their patients who are pregnant. After completing these “Discovery Experiences”, participants then interview patients in a virtual clinic requiring them to apply what they have learned about the identified hazards in a clinical setting.