ECG EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Electrocardiogram is the most common cardiac examination ordered by physicians. In the past, only persons working in the ECG laboratory were allowed to perform a 12-lead ECG on a patient. Today, however, this task has been delegated to a variety of health professionals, including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and even nursing assistants in some health care facilities. There is a need for educational programs that meet the needs of these practitioners while minimizing resource expenditure. This project proposes the design, development, and evaluation of simECG, a multimedia, simulation-based system to train health care professionals in the use and troubleshooting of ECG machines. Phase I will implement the underlying simulation, an introductory section on the physiological processes underlying ECGs, a single simulated case patient for training the user in performing an ECG, and a parallel assessment module. The design and development will be evaluated through three efforts: (1) a subject-matter-expert review, to include quality assurance by a cardiologist, and (2) an end-user focus group review of the product at three stages--initial design, alpha prototype, and beta prototype. The prototype will also be evaluated in (3) a controlled field trial of 100 randomly assigned target users.