Using the Virtual Clinic

Signing in

Make sure you use the same name, with exact spelling, each time you use the mini-fellowship. Reasons for this are discussed in the Travel Guide.

Making a selection

You make selections in the normal way, by moving your mouse cursor and clicking the mouse button (left button for Windows users). When the cursor is over an area that can be selected, it changes from an arrow shape to a hand shape.

Moving around

There are a couple of ways to move around in the Clinic: from the Overview map or the Hallway.

Overview: You get to this view by clicking on any of the overview icons (they look like evacuation diagrams) that are scattered throughout the clinic. From the map, just click on any area that interests you, and that drops you into the appropriate location in the Hallway.

Hallway: To enter a room, click on the appropriate doorknob. To move down the hallway, click to the side of the screen in the direction you want to go. To get to the Overview, click on a "fire evacuation plan."

Viewing patient records

When in the Hallway in front of an examining room door, you can elect to view your simulated patient's chart. In general, you can turn pages by clicking on the appropriate side of the chart (NOTE that for slower computers, it can take some time for a new page to appear; please be patient). As your simulated patient's disease progresses, her chart grows quite a bit; we've provided record tabs to help you jump around. When finished viewing the chart, click on the "Done" tab or button.

Virtual Time

Your simulated patient, as with an actual HIV patient, will experience disease progression over several years. The dates in the chart will reflect that, so don't be surprised if you see dates that are 3+ years in the future. It goes without saying that, as you participate in her management, today's standards of care apply, even though we're virtually in the future. This sounds more confusing than it is... we hope.

Tracking Your Progress in the Mini-fellowship

You can wander about the Clinic, doing as much or as little as you wish. The program will automatically keep track of what you've done in each Clinic area. When you return to the Conference or Learning Resource Rooms, what you've accomplished in previous visits will be noted by a check mark.

The simulated patient encounters are handled differently. We recommend that you allot enough time to complete a visit once you've started it; for each encounter, a note near the doorknob estimates how much time it should take. The program will keep track of which visit you've completed and will automatically present you with the next one in sequence when you're ready for it. Note that once you've elected to start with Room A or B, it's best to continue the sequence you've started; that is, starting with room A should be followed by a second visit to Room A. There's a way to get out of this sequence, by pressing Alt+V (Windows) or Command+V (Mac) (see Hotkeys).

Navigating through Lectures, Case Discussions

New to this version of the Virtual Clinic is the ability to navigate forward and backward through the lectures and case discussion screens. At the bottom of most screens containing audio is a VCR-like control strip with five buttons, which have the following effects:

       - "fast-rewind" to the previous screen;
       - "rewind" to the beginning of the currently playing screen;
       - "stop" the audio, with options to resume or end your current section;
       - "play";
       - "fast-forward" to the next screen.

Note that this control strip is not available during video sequences or when no audio is playing. If the cursor isn't responding while trying to click these buttons, the program is probably busy and will return control shortly.

Taking a break: Exiting and Resuming the Program

You'll probably want to do your mini-fellowship in several sessions. To exit the Virtual Clinic program, go to the Clinic Overview by clicking on any Overview icon which looks like a fire evacuation diagram. Then click on the EXIT sign in the right lower corner. Your location (progress) in the mini-fellowship will be automatically saved. You'll be able to pick up where you left off the next time you sign back into the Clinic. An alternative way to Exit, which can be used anywhere in the Clinic, is to press Alt+Q (Win) or Command+Q (Mac).

To resume your mini-fellowship, launch the program. When you sign in, use exactly the same name that you used previously. You should then click the "RESTORE" button and your mini-fellowship will pick up where you last left off, or very near there. As noted in the Travel Guide, only select "Start Over" if you really want to erase all record of your current progress through the mini-fellowship.