Teaching and Learning Diagnostic Skills in a Simulation Environment

Simulation environments can be employed in a variety of ways to enhance a learner’s diagnostic skills and knowledge. Novices can receive instruction in critical subskills including device manipulation, symptom detection, and symptom interpretation, and they can practice those subskills with close automated support. Intermediate level learners can practice applying those subskills in a realistic diagnostic environment in which the difficulty of the learning environment is individualized through the use of problem selection and learner support functions. Advanced learners can utilize the simulation to meet personal learning objectives by exploring a wide range of normal and abnormal conditions and by controlling the introduction of simulated faults.