Virtual Patient Encounters for Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond

Virtual Patient Encounters is a breakthrough in EMS education! Users can get real-world prehospital experience without leaving the classroom or home! The Virtual Patient Encounters learning triad - a textbook, interactive patient simulation software, and a study guide that ties everything together - offers a state-of-the-art tool for developing critical thinking skills. Users can apply what they're learning in Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond on 15 virtual patients in a variety of prehospital environments. It's an incredible opportunity to make real patient care decisions in a safe environment!

• An extraordinary study guide helps students take the knowledge they learn in Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond, and apply it to 15 complex patient care scenarios in a virtual prehospital setting - promoting mastery of NSC competencies.
• Two different types of lessons are included in each VPE study guide: preparatory (foundational) lessons and summative lessons to ensure that students can benefit from the study guide exercises throughout their class, not just as a summary tool.
• The preparatory lessons cover a particular topic by using multiple cases. The lesson on patient assessment, for example, is a preparatory lesson that covers multiple cases in the software.
• Summative lessons parallel the clinical chapters in the textbook and demonstrate the student's ability to manage particular medical or trauma conditions.
• Interactive patient care simulation software is used for each study guide lesson, featuring scenario-setting videos, virtual assessment tools, treatment protocols, emergency drug information, intervention wizards, and more.
• Serves as a bridge between the classroom and clinicals, so students truly understand how theory applies to situations they'll face in the real world.
• Realistic, emerging conditions of the patient are a direct result of students' interventions (student's interventions can and will change the patient's condition).
• Hands-on learning makes it easy for audio, visual, and kinesthetic learners.
• Prepares students for clinicals by removing the risk of harming real patients and builds their confidence throughout the course.
• Makes assessment of students easy because instructors can gauge student comprehension and ability to think critically through study guide exercises and logs from the software.
• Provides the opportunity for class discussion on the same patient so the entire class can discuss learning points of each virtual patient and their outcomes.

How the learning triad works:

• Faculty assign a lesson in the study guide.
• The study guide directs student to Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond for a reading assignment - to ensure they understand the concepts before they apply them.
• Students then go to the case on the CD-ROM that's indicated in the study guide.
• After listening to a realistic dispatch, students watch a video of the initial approach to the patient.
• The study guide directs students through the software to create specific experiences relevant to text content.
• Students begin on-scene care by choosing from 21 appropriate assessments including ECG.
• Once assessments are performed, students can choose from over 30 interventions.
• Interventions even include medication administration.
• Patients respond to interventions with realistic emerging conditions that are a direct result of the students' care decisions.
• Throughout the software, students will be working in the study guide to complete activities, while they are also able to utilize both a Drug Reference tool and Protocols.
• Students also decide when to transport the patient.
• Throughout the software lesson, the software keeps a summary log of assessments, findings, and interventions, which can be saved and printed or sent electronically to faculty for evaluation.