Game Informed Virtual Patients: Catalysts for Online Learning Communities and Professional Development of Medical Teachers

Abstract

Modern medical education necessitates a complex interleaving of issues relating to practice, professional and personal development, teaching and learning. This complexity has led, in part, to medical education being persistently located in the vanguard of eLearning development. Here, the authors describe our approach to the development of virtual patient resources and in particular how this iterative dialogue arising from the allied processes of practice, reflection and pedagogy required to create new learning tools and resources has contributed to professional development of those engaged in teaching medical students and in building online learning communities at the University of Edinburgh.