The Medical Student Experience of Tomorrow
**Disclaimer: This article is NOT an advertisement or promotional piece. This product does not exist. The experiences shared in this article are entirely fictional and used purely for the purpose of describing the functionality of this imaginary device. This piece is written to inspire further reflection and discussion on the possibilities of ubiquitous computing.**
Further information on Design Fiction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_fiction
An introduction to the future of education in the medical field: Patient X. Our design is created to help train and evaluate aspiring medical professionals as they work through their degree programs at any stage of their practical and academic experiences.
Features
Patient X is a student teaching device in the form of a robot patient, which generates a unique set of personally identifying information (PII) each time the device is used which allows students to input the unique identity and take the utmost caution with their patient’s data for the duration of the simulation. Patient X is able to display any physical symptom of any illness programmed into our database, which provides students the ability to diagnose the illness and apply or recommend the proper treatment, depending on which version of the simulation is running.
Along with Patient X, there is also a database of patients and illnesses which can be chosen to run the simulation with. Any information Patient X uses to display symptoms of any conditions in our database will be chosen from the highest standard, peer reviewed papers as well as the current standards of medical professionals, which we have learned from our expertly chosen consultant physicians. All that is needed to activate a new session with Patient X is the evaluation administrator to choose a random name and illness. Patient X will then register this information over the wireless network and be called into the exam room with the medical student who is being evaluated. Traditionally, these evaluations have used actors off the street to simply be the actor, but Patient X also functions as a scorecard and will email the student the results from their evaluation, which are also forwarded to the correct professor for a progress report or a grade as needed.
Patient X is also able to show the medical student areas to make corrections in, such as where to place a blood pressure cuff, what vein would be more beneficial to use for an IV, or a reminder of hygiene, if the student is using Patient X for the first time and is a bit flustered; we recognize this will be a unique experience for new users and refuse to mark that against students. This knowledge is gathered from visits with practicing physicians who have allowed Patient X and our team to investigate the differences between practice types and common practices to improve the value of our simulation for the medical student. If the student is in an oncology practice, Patient X will be expecting the common practices which were investigated by our team and can correct the student if they are not up to par with the expectations.
Patient does have a speaker and voice programmed so the students are able to get a feel for treating people with a dialogue with Patient X. Patient X’s answers are based on real reactions witnessed in our expert’s exam rooms, not recorded during those sessions but the AI training for Patient X’s vocabulary was created based on words or phrases commonly repeated by patients or their guardians in the exam room.
Extra Features
Patient X can also come with it’s own portable exam room and computer set-up as requested, but the fee will increase substantially as we will be required to build the room and train users on how to remove the computer and then collapse the room for travel. The room and computer will be programmed to the Patient X wireless connection to ensure easy set-up and tear down after the initial build. However as great as these features may sound, we are more than well aware there may be some concerns about Patient X.
Security Concerns
In order to generate PII, Patient X has a finite number of values to be used, which do not correlate to any living person as we have set the information to be a couple values off. For example, a Social Security number in the Patient X database is 11 digits long instead of 9. This ensures the Social Security number cannot belong to any existing person and protects any data generated with the Patient X simulation as being HIPAA compliant. This also gives Patient X the ability to instantly start a second simulation as data does not need to be immediately destroyed or kept, because our database will save those results. Patient X can also run two bots at the same time, with one being a guardian and the other being the charge, i.e. a child or elderly family member. This will allow the student to practice situations where the patient is not in charge of their own care and has to inquire about certain things in order to maintain compliance, as well as experience balancing two conflicting desires between guardian and charge.
One of Patient X’s advantages is that it doesn’t require any PII. Patient X will be monitored by us, the company, and you the medical student without violating any HIPAA concerns. This also means that while students should continue to take the utmost care protecting Patient X’s information, testing centers can shred the documents in compliance with education guidelines and safely share the student’s results with their academic institution in real time once the student has completed their testing. This innovation covers one of the major issues within the development of medical devices, as security is taken care of with the utmost priority.
Patient X will also consistently be updated, via their wireless link, with the latest security we and our partners have developed to protect the school’s network from outside access and from Patient X being taken for a malicious purpose, rather than the educational purpose we have set out to complete. Patient X models also have a global positioning system built into their hardware so you are able to track the device and ensure you will not lose this priceless piece of equipment. We have created a highly secured application for desktop which will allow users to check the diagnostics of Patient X, including its current location. Should Patient X not be where you expect, you are able to lock down the device and have it alert the authorities to the theft while you go out to retrieve your investment.
Patient X will change the testing landscape of the medical education field, from the final USMLE (United States Medical License Exam) students take to graduate to their practical based classes offered at academic institutions. With features that are able to display symptoms as well as describe them, this advanced device provides a more complete experience for any practical lab or evaluation. The security features built into Patient X also allow schools to keep track of this investment and ensure their PII is held to sufficient security standards. This collection of software, mechanical, and medical knowledge will be used for years to come in support of our medical students.
