30 An Asynchronous Learning Curriculum Using Virtual Patients

CGME requires EM residencies to have 5 hours of weekly education. One of these hours may be individualized instruction (asynchronous) as long as it records resident participation and educational effectiveness. This year, Northwestern Emergency Medicine Residency introduced Virtual Patient (VP) simulation using the DecisionSim software as the primary modality for asynchronous learning. A VP simulation is an online computer simulation in which the learner acts as a physician obtaining an H&P and making diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. VPs have similar benefits to a traditional simulation experience without the costs of a simulation laboratory. The VP software also provides real-time feedback for residents and records data for performance evaluation, including time spent on each case simulation.