The project team developed and tested a computer-generated virtual patient for pharmacy students to practise and improve their communication, diagnostic and management skills for minor illnesses. The software developed allows interaction between the student and the simulated patient, and captures and analyses aspects of the interaction including the questions asked, the diagnosis and management chosen by the student. Feedback is provided to the student.
To obtain the software developed by the project, request a username and password from david.newby@newcastle.edu.au and then visit http://resweb.newcastle.edu.au/VirtualPatient/private/uploads.