COVID-19 pandemics determined the necessity of further search of effective strategies of education of medical specialists.

Simulation training platform “Global electronic database of clinical case scenarios “ClinCaseQuest” was created in 2020 to improve the quality of medical education and decrease medical errors in the world.

The Platform was made for medical students, paramedics, interns, doctors, and teachers of medical establishments.

Dynamic development of medical knowledge, continuous update of clinical recommendations, and evidence-based medicine require continuous development of modern medical education system, which itself requires the usage of modern educational methods. Implementation of interactive educational methods with information-educational web technologies into medical education may decrease the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge and skills.

Background for implementation into the education of interactive scenarios of clinical cases as a type of simulation education includes:

• periodical lack of thematic patients for demonstration to students, and lack of possibility to show the variety of clinical situations;
• necessity in significant improvement of practical training of future doctors, and quality of postgraduate training with preserving of proper level of theoretical knowledge;
• necessity of optimization of traditional forms and methods of education;
• necessity of quality visualization of additional examination methods;
• necessity of improvement of knowledge control, usage of computer testing and strategy of active learning;
• necessity of implementation into education of novel information-educational  web-technologies, which increase effectiveness of teaching and education.

Simulation Training Platform “Global electronic database of clinical case scenarios “ClinCaseQuest” was developed to provide medical students, paramedics, interns, clinical residents, and doctor’s ability to acquire clinical experience in a safe virtual environment for patients via education in virtual rooms of clinical cases. Simulation Training Platform will provide increased quality of medical education for both undergraduate and postgraduate stages, which will lead to decreasing in the worldwide quantity of medical errors and increasing in the level of healthcare to the population of different countries.

The development of interactive simulators of clinical cases is a new method of education of medicine, based on a combination of theoretical data in various medical problems and clinical cases, results of physical examination of patients, which requires choosing of treatment and diagnostic plan in a virtual environment.

Computer-based simulation education is an integral part of medical training. Implementation of virtual models of patients into medical education, computer-based simulation scenarios of clinical cases determine increasing of effectiveness of problem-based and case learning with which the gap between practical and theoretical knowledge diminishes and logical evidence-based thinking develops.

Visualization of educational information with computer technologies allows solving a number of pedagogical tasks, which include intensification of education, activation of educational and cognitive activity, visualization, figurative representation of knowledge and educational activity, sharing the knowledge, and patterns recognition. In medical education background introduction of visual methods of information significantly increases the quality of training of specialists, determines deeper remembering of data, and development of professional competencies. It also fully matches the modern needs of medical education and the necessity of continuous education of doctors.

Global electronic database of scenarios of clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” offers several advantages for continuous medical education:

• acquire medical experience in virtual environment;
• dive into clinical environment using clinical case simulation and modelling of clinical cases;
• opportunity to educate on rare clinical cases and complex clinical situation;
• acquire medical experience without harm to patients;
• gamification of education;
• increase of motivation to education;
• high quality of visualization of additional methods of examination;
• achieving of instant comments of tutor;
• scenarios with branching;
• usage of all types of perception – tactile, sound, visual, which will ensure the maximum degree of memorization of the material;
• using emotions in learning;
• development of clinical thinking;
• developing thinking based on the principles of evidence-based medicine;
• reduction of fear and stress of independent medical practice among future doctors;
• practicing skills before mastering, re-passing difficult branches of the script;
• deep memorization of theoretical material;
• obtaining cognitive skills in making a diagnosis, conducting differential diagnostics, regardless of the operating mode of the clinic and medical school;
• mastering the methods of diagnosis and treatment in a given situation;
• working out communication skills with the help of dialogue simulators with patients, their relatives, with colleagues;
• an objective assessment of the knowledge gained, obtaining detailed explanations and comments from the teacher;
• the ability to apply theoretical knowledge in real clinical practice.

Principles of the simulation training platform “Global electronic database of clinical case scenarios “ClinCaseQuest”

• Visualization. Most clinical case scenarios contain high-quality visualization of additional diagnostic methods
• Branching. Most clinical case scenarios have a non-linear flow and a branched structure. To build training scripts, Branching techniques are used, as well as micro Branching.
• Gamification. The student feels like a participant in the scenario and, together with the main characters, solves clinical and diagnostic problems, and chooses treatment tactics.
• Evidence-based medicine. All case scenarios are based on current international clinical guidelines, evidence-based medicine data.

Features of constructing scenarios for clinical cases:

• clinical case scenarios are predominantly educational in nature, due to which a deep study of theoretical and practical material is realized;
• mistakes are not accumulated and are not transferred to the debriefing, since in the scenarios of clinical cases, a step-by-step study and work on errors is carried out in order to develop standards of medical care;
• case scenarios are constructed using the “branching” and “multiple sequential microbranching” methodology.

Subdivisions of the virtual clinic of the simulation training platform “Global Electronic Database of Clinical Case Scenarios “ClinCaseQuest”:

• Outpatient reception of an electronic database of clinical cases. Doctors of the electronic database of clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” carry out outpatient appointments. Outpatient diagnostics of various diseases does not require inpatient treatment. The clinic’s doctors provide highly qualified advice to virtual patients.
• Hospital of the electronic database of clinical cases. The electronic clinic of the worldwide electronic database of clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” includes departments of various specializations that assist virtual patients in a hospital setting.
• Intensive care unit. The electronic clinic of the worldwide electronic database of clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” includes an intensive care unit.
• Instrumental and diagnostic units. The electronic clinic of the worldwide electronic database of clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” includes instrumental and diagnostic units (catheter laboratory, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and functional diagnostics units).
• Laboratory and diagnostic department. The electronic clinic of the worldwide electronic database of clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” includes a laboratory and diagnostic unit (clinical, bacteriological laboratories, DNA laboratory).

The Global database of electronic clinical cases “ClinCaseQuest” contains simulators: standardized patients (standardized patients); rare clinical cases; severe clinical cases; complex clinical cases; modeling of clinical situations; interactive clinical analyzes.

The “ClinCaseQuest” global electronic database of clinical cases scenarios is continuously updated with new simulators and clinical case simulators.

The founder of the Platform is N. A. Lopina, MD, Ph.D., Master of Pedagogy of Higher Education.