The learning design involves students conducting a simulated clinical interview. The main resource is an interactive multimedia program. View the Learning Design Sequence for a graphical representation of this learning design.

Students can elect to complete a short introductory tutorial or jump straight into an interview with a patient. The tutorial provides students with information about the goals of a good clinical interview and some of the barriers to good communication in a clinical setting....

The interactive multimedia program itself is a self-contained self-directed learning resource which supports a broader curriculum...

Students are encouraged to discuss their learning outcomes after they have used the program with their Introduction to Clinical Medicine tutor. Before conducting an interview, students are able to complete an Introductory Tutorial which is also regarded as a type of support...

The interactive multimedia program is designed to be used by students alone. As the program is a self-directed learning resource, the size of the cohort able to use the resource will be determined by the delivery environment...

Identifying a patient's problems in a clinical interview is a complex skill that health professional students must acquire. Too frequently health professional students fix on the biological aspects of a patient and ignore social and psychological factors that may be contributing to the patient's problems...

Assessment in Introduction to Clinical Medicine is formative via regular feedback from the tutor, and summative, through a video-taped interview of a simulated patient which is marked by observing examiners...

A clear advantage of the program is that it allows students to repeat an interview, selecting alternative pathways and reflecting on how changes in their interview technique can alter the outcome...

Communicating with the Tired Patient broadly follows constructivist principles of teaching and learning. More specifically, the program follows a situated model of learning by requiring users to play the role of a doctor in a clinical encounter...

The original concept was conceived by Teng Liaw and Ruth McNair from the Department of General Practice at The University of Melbourne...

The program was modified after its initial implementation which was the subject of an extensive formative evaluation...

The cases used in the clinical interviews were specifically selected to provide students with a mix of ethnicity, gender and age. Students can choose to be either a male or a female doctor reflecting the gender balance both in the cohort of students and the profession. The use of a variety of cases in the final version of the program will encourage students to consider how interviewing skills may need to be modified to suit different patients and situations....