Method for Providing Timely Performance Evaluations

Baystate Health, Inc
posted on 03/09/2009

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This invention involves a method and system for providing timely performance evaluations to students or trainees, and more specifically can be used in health care training programs for medical students and surgical residents. Current surgical educational curricula are composed almost exclusively of apprenticeship style education and lectures, but several factors are leading to a decrease in available time for training, with many training programs turning to the use of computer-based medical or surgical simulators. Although there are many well-regarded surgical simulators on the market, current products are not designed to facilitate the storage and processing of the results of trainees? simulation sessions. For example, supervisors cannot receive and evaluate the results of their trainees? sessions on simulators in real-time, nor can they have the trainees? cumulative results readily available to guide the choice of training assignments in live surgical procedures. The invention comprises a feedback loop, whereby clinical and simulated clinical performance evaluations are inputted, or gathered and stored, and then made available to the health care practitioner and to his/her educator(s) whenever needed throughout the training program. The invention encompasses software programs that facilitate the processing of information from simulator sessions, for storage in a database. The database would contain detailed records and evaluations of each trainee?s sessions on the simulator, and can be accessed by a supervisor to assess a student?s progress, by the trainee him/herself for the same purpose, or by a senior surgeon to assist in assigning the trainee appropriate tasks during live surgical training. We envision this invention as having the greatest use in surgical or medical training scenarios, but there are potential applications in any industry where students or trainees are educated using computer simulations. Baystate Health is the owner of a pending U.S. patent application claiming this invention. Baystate Health, Inc. is seeking a partner for the commercial development of this invention, which would include exclusive licensing of the patent application.