The UV School of Medicine hires a clinical simulator for students

VALENCIA. On Wednesday, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Valencia (UV) informed students of the hiring of the Body Interact tool to complement their professional training given the “instability of clinical practices at the moment” by the health crisis. This tool consists of a file clinical simulator with virtual patients and interactive with the user that reproduces “real clinical situations”, as explained by the team through an email sent to university students.

The suspension of the practices of students of degree courses and training cycles of Health Sciences in health centers – with the exception of the last year – went into effect this Tuesday after being announced in late October. As stated by the Ministry of Health, the purpose of this measure is “to protect students and patients from the increase in coronavirus cases and from increasing hospital pressure”. A measure that worries the affected students because it is the second consecutive year in which they lose their practices without having alternatives to be able to recover them later.

That said, the Faculty of Medicine you have purchased instrument licenses Body Interact which for the moment will be available only for the fourth, fifth and sixth courses, as detailed in Valencia Plaza the member of the Delegation of Medical Students (DAM), Paula bellido.

Specifically, the tool allows students to access a patient list virtual where they can indicate the time of the practice once the case has been selected. Already in the simulation, users will be able to adjust the camera view and establish a dialogue with the patient to understand his symptoms and learn about his medical history. Further, they can decide between several options such as performing a physical exam, surgery, monitoring or drug administration, among others.

With active access licenses for a period of three months, the student body can diagnose and treat thirty clinical cases, being 10 of general medicine, 10 of pediatrics and 10 of obstetrics, as indicated by the team principal in the mail.

In turn, the team points this out the the training activity is voluntary and will not be used for the evaluation of course topics, even if they indicate to students that its use is “highly recommended”. Paula Bellido states that the idea, therefore, is that the student body devotes the time of the canceled practices to the application, since the function of Body Interact is to replace them. “Obviously it doesn’t replace clinical practice with real patients but it is certainly an advance, since other public and private universities have been using it for some time, “explains the student.

The student body haven’t tested the app yet pending receipt of licenses and instructions to access this tool will be sent to students by post. The Faculty team advises students to view the available tutorials before using them “to get the most out of the available simulator”.