Medical Training in Second Life
December 21, 2007
We’ve covered the growing health training focus in virtual worlds, particularly Second Life.
For the health professional who’s wondering about how medical training would work, there’s an excellent overview here.
As a health professional myself, I can see the benefits an immersive environment would bring. It won’t ever beat poring over a cadaver in real life but it’s going to be a greatly superior complement to real life training.
Update: the student version of the British Medical Journal is also running an article on medical training in Second Life
Popularity: 3% [?]
Contraception talk in Second Life
December 12, 2007
The University of Plymouth have an excellent presence in Second Life devoted to sexual health. AIDS / HIV awareness, sexually transmitted diseases and other sexual health topics are the focus. Their blog lists a lot of their activity. One upcoming event that may interest you:
“Barbara Hastings-Asatourian, Managing Director of Contraception Education and Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at the University of Salford, is our guest speaker for the second seminar in our bimonthly sexual health seminar series.
Her seminar will be about Contraception, and will take place on 13 December 2007 at 8:00 PM (UK/GMT time = 12:00 PM/noon SLT) at the University of Plymouth Sexual Health SIM.
We are writing to invite you to attend this event. Please also forward to colleagues and friends who might be interested in attending. We will also have Christmas celebrations, a huge Christmas tree and much more at our SIM on the seminar day!”
Popularity: 3% [?]
UK’s National Health Service and Second Life
November 20, 2007
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) is the world’s largest public health system and it’s currently under review. Second Life will play a small role in the review according to a message on the SL Health list today:
“The NHS Next Stage Review in Second Life:
England’s National Health Service (NHS) is under review: The ‘Our NHS our future’ review. The NHS is England’s publicly-funded healthcare system, providing the vast majority of healthcare in the UK, which is based on clinical need and not the ability to pay. The Review provides an opportunity to ensure that the future of the NHS is clinically led and can meet the challenges of delivering healthcare over the next decade.
As a key component of the Review, on the 21st of November there will be an International Clinical Summit on pathways to care, where 1500 invited clinicians and physicians will be meeting in real life in London. But you can follow the meeting in Second Life or via the webcast. In Second Life you will be able to register your own opinions and meet and chat with the speakers.
This SL event will mainly be of interest to healthcare professionals, both within the UK and internationally. Our Second Health Auditorium can accommodate up to 50 avatars. If there is sufficient demand we will open a second auditorium, and you can always follow the Summit’s live webcast outside SL if we are over-subscribed. Text chat will be logged, and we may record video and audio portions of the in-world event for later playback.
Dates and times:
21 November 2007, 14:20-18:45 Greenwich Mean Time
21 November 2007, 06:20-10:45 Second Life Time (GMT-8)
Locations:
Teleport straight to the presentation area
If the main auditorium is full, the overflow auditorium is here.
To take part in the text chat with speakers in the main auditorium, you will need to join the Second Health London group. This will be explained at the overflow auditorium.
Agenda
14.20-14.30 Welcome and opening the event (CMO)
Overview of SHA engagement events (David Nicholson)
14.30-14.45 Objectives of the NHS Next Stage Review
14.45-15.00 Setting the scene - how to move the needle on health and health outcomes
15.00-16.00 Speaker Session One: High quality care across a healthcare system
David Levine from Montreal
Jack Cochran from Kaiser
Table discussion & questions
16.00-16.30 Tea Break (break in webcast)
16.30-17.30 Speaker Session Two: Examples of integrated care systems from abroad
Dr Schwartz from Westchester
Prof Schulte from Polikum
Table discussion & questions
17.30-18.30 Speaker Session Three: Examples of integrated care systems from UK
Dr O’Kelly from Tiverton
Dr Ian Rutter from Bradford
Table discussion & questions
18.30-18.45 Wrap up
Webcast: If the event is oversubscribed, or you can’t access SL, you can view the live webcast.”
Now if only Australia’s health systems could receive the same amount of attention….
Popularity: 10% [?]
CSIRO launch seminar series on ABC Island
September 3, 2007
The ABC Island Ampitheatre has started playing host to CSIRO scientists. Each week in September there’ll be a seminar. Tonight’s featured Dr Peter Clifton, a researcher in Obesity and Diabetes at CSIRO and co-author of the CSIRO Total Well Being Diet Book. He presented on “Anti-Aging; The Prospect of Human Life Extension”.
More than 40 people attended so you can expect next week’s will be popular as well. To find out details of upcoming events, join the ‘ABC Friends’ group in-world.
Popularity: 5% [?]
NORML make the jump into Second Life
August 30, 2007
The National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is an American organisation that has set up a presence in SL..
“Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana smokers. A nonprofit public-interest advocacy group, NORML represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly.”
A launch event is scheduled for September 6th at Noon SLT (5am on the 7th AEST) will feature a chat with NORML’s founder and Legal Counsel Keith Stroup, talking about NORML and answering questions plus “marijuana related music, NORML info and freebies.”
Whether you agree with the decriminalisation of cannabis or not, this may be a fascinating event to attend.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Relay For Life commences
July 28, 2007
The SL Relay for Life is in its third year, and this weekend is the culmination of months of work and promotion.
Spread across four sims, the course has some great sights, music on tap and a bunch of entertainment and commemorative events scheduled (SL Insider has the full schedule listed). There are different themed areas such as Pinocchio and Tomb Raider to walk through in addition to chatting with other participants.
Like the Australian Relay For Life, groups have set up camping areas and the whole thing has that similar community spirit. You can even enjoy the sight of yor hair disappearing as you cross sims on the walk.
Do yourself a favour and do at least one virtual lap and donate some money for cancer support and research. Check it out in-world.
Popularity: 8% [?]
The Ann Myers Medical Center
July 1, 2007
The Ann Myers Medical Center (AMMC) is part of the Sprott-Shaw Community College islands.
The AMMC blog lists the presence’s goals as:
“1. Assist students to become more proficient in initial exam history and physicals. The patient often reveals many important aspects of their disorder through their words if the physician takes the time to listen. In this fast-paced world, med students are not being appropriately trained to listen.
2. A second aspect to the history and physical for Dr. Ann is attempting to train her students to truly care for their patients. Dr. Ann teaches her First Life students that they can heal simply by listening and caring. She often states to her students, “Laying a hand on a patient’s shoulder and honestly listening can heal more than any medication you can prescribe for a person.”
3. AMMC is attempting to link telemetric builds (ECG, oxygen saturation machines, etc.) to real-time outputs via URLs. Thus, a student will right click on an ECG machine and be taken to a URL, where they will have to accurately diagnose the medical issue through analysis of telemetric outputs.
4. In conjunction, we will be assisting students to become more proficient in the analysis of MRIs, CTs and X-rays.
5. AMMC will also be training Psychology students in various methodologies and treatment protocols, implementing Dr.Ann’s belief and research interest in psychoimmunobiology, the body’s ability to heal itself through the stimulation of the immune system to fight disease.”
The goals are more than worthy, and any strategy that increases the human focus of medical students is a very positive thing. The hospital itself consist of three floors and includes and operating theatre, recovery unit, birthing unit and examination cubicles. Aside from the technological learnings that could be enabled here, when SL becomes fully voice enabled the ‘bedside manner’ issues will probably provide the greatest educational gains. Of course, it’d be nice to know that Australian health professionals were being provided the same opportunities.
Popularity: 6% [?]
