Lesson 1: Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News

Doctors study medicine so that they can diagnose and treat their patients. There are many different illnesses and diseases in the world, and many share common symptoms. Doctors have to run tests and document symptoms in order to correctly diagnose the patient. In this simulation you will be diagnosing the patient based on the symptoms that he or she exhibits. Do you have what it takes to make a correct diagnosis?

Doing the science

1. Start the Smallpox Simulation by clicking on the "Sim" tab.
2. Click on "Symptoms" to read the symptoms of your patient. Click on "Next" in the thought bubble to read more symptoms. Record the symptoms into Table 1 below.
3. Click on "Close" to close the symptoms thought bubble.
4. Take the patient’s temperature by clicking on the thermometer and record it in Table 1.
5. Take the patient’s blood pressure by clicking on the blood pressure meter cuff (called sphygmomanometer).
6. Click on "Chart" to see the blood pressure, and record it in Table 1.
7. Click on the arrow above days to advance to the next day to see how the patient’s illness develops.
8. Repeat steps 2-8 until day 32.
9. Click on "Diagnosis" to diagnose the patient. Refer to background for help in the diagnosis.