In my real hospital, whenever I round with the students, I’m mostly limited to talking about the spectrum of clinical problems that circumstance places in the hospital at that time.

So I might have three cases of threatened preterm labor, and no cases of tubal ectopic pregnancy.

In my simulated hospital, since I control who is admitted, I can insure that students get an even exposure to each 0f the 80 (or so) clinical problems that lead women to be admitted.

For this simulation, I’ve used a podcasting format (audio only), that imagines I’m standing outside the patient’s room, explaining to the students:

1. The story of what brought the patient to the hospital.
2. How we knew what was wrong with her.
3. What we did about it.
4. Why our approach didn’t work out, and how we modified it to make her well.

Of course, I use this patient as an example of a clinical problem to enable me to expand further on the clinical problem itself (“Backward Teaching”…as opposed to “Frontward Teaching” such as a formal lecture).

Each encounter takes only a few minutes, so it is efficient in use of the student’s time.

Because I control which patients I discuss, I can make sure to cover the important issues and avoid duplication.

Because there is a clinical story associated with each encounter, it is easier for the students to remember.

The simulated rounds cannot and should not completely replace the rounding experience. Students in real rounds benefit from the group interactions, and the ability to ask questions to clarify issues.

But the simulated rounds can greatly augment the clinical experience of rounding, adding a significant depth and breadth at minimal cost.

Click Here to review some of the Rounding Simulations