An interactive, multimedia, virtual patient module was designed and developed on compact disc (CD-ROM) to address the need for student dentists to increase their competence and decrease their perception of difficulty in caring for children with developmental disabilities. A development team consisting of pediatric dentistry faculty members, parents of children with developmental disabilities, an individual with a developmental disability, and educational specialists developed an interactive virtual patient case. The case involved a ten-year-old child with Down syndrome presenting with a painful tooth. Student dentists were required to make decisions regarding proper interactions with the child, as well as appropriate clinical procedures throughout the case. Differences in perceived difficulty level and knowledge change were measured, as well as the student dentists' overall satisfaction with the learning experience. Significant results were obtained in both perceived difficulty level and knowledge-based measures for student dentists. Participants reported overall satisfaction with the modules. Preparing student dentists to provide sensitive and competent care for children with developmental disabilities is a critical need within dentistry. This study demonstrated that an interactive, multimedia (CD-ROM), virtual patient learning module for student dentists is potentially an effective tool in meeting this need.

This article describes the emerging role of educational multiuser virtual environments, specifically Second Life™, in anatomical sciences education. Virtual worlds promote inquiry-based learning and conceptual understanding, potentially making them applicable for teaching and learning gross anatomy. A short introduction to Second Life as an anatomical educational tool is provided, along with description of existing anatomy applications and future directions for this innovative teaching modality.

Text messaging is a popular means of communication among young adults. Consequently, this mode of communication may be used to positively influence students in their academic studies. In this study, students were given the opportunity to receive text or e-mail messages regarding lecture content. Short message reminders, in the form of texts or e-mails, were used to send bite-sized course content to undergraduate nursing students. Messages included questions that would be answered in the next day's lecture or reiterated a main point presented in the previous day's lecture. Following a survey at the end of the course, text users responded positively toward this pedagogical approach and felt the use of text messaging enhanced their learning experience. E-mail users reported a short message reminder was moderately useful to their study of anatomy. These results suggest text messaging may be a valuable tool for educators as they seek to incorporate technology into the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to -examine the use of oral clonidine as a preoperative sedative prior to parenteral moderate sedation. Initially, four patients were given 0.2 mg oral clonidine but reduced to 0.1 mg clonidine due to -significant drops in blood pressure. Oral clonidine doses of 0.1 mg were then given to 19 patients preoperatively. In all these patients, blood pressure measurements decreased, but there were no significant differences in amounts of sedative agents needed in the clonidine group and the control group (N = 80). The conclusions reached suggest that clonidine has an advantage over other preoperative sedation agents in anxious patients exhibiting hypertension and tachycardia. However, the preop ideal dose required to reduce the amount of sedative drugs used as well as provide anxiolysis remains unknown. In further studies, different doses should be explored to determine what dosage of clonidine may offer hemodynamic protection as well as decrease sedative drugs needed.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has established a presence in “Second Life” by developing a virtual anatomy laboratory. This virtual facility has a variety of stations and is being used in the educational programs in anatomy for undergraduate and health professional students. In the screen capture on the cover, avatars, representing instructors and students, are reviewing anatomy assignments during a session in the virtual laboratory. A description of this “Second life” virtual laboratory and its educational opportunities is found in the article by Dr. Richardson and her colleagues in the current issue of ASE.