Why pulsus paradoxus?
Being able to check pulsus paradoxus is a skill that’s needed infrequently for many practitioners, but once it’s needed, it’s important to be able to exclude a medical emergency.
It’s a great example of a physical exam skill which remains critical despite the widespread availability of bedside ultrasound in many clinical settings.
Learning this skill involves overcoming both conceptual and procedural challenges. This is an attempt at a “just-in-time” training tool that encourages active learning, and also makes efforts towards improving long-term retention.
Why build a simulator?
It’s tough to practice this skill on patients. Patients with elevated pulsus paradoxus are hard to come by. It’s also challenging to take your time and learn a new procedural skill while your volunteer test subject is experiencing discomfort from an inflated BP cuff. Hence the value of a simulator to improve the accessibility of practicing this skill.
Why release it freely?
I feel that too often, medical education is siloed within institutions or locked behind paywalls. I am a big believer in Free, Open-Access Medical Education. If you find it helpful, I’d love to hear from you – even a one sentence email goes a long way to let me know who is finding this resource helpful, and how it could be improved.
Who created this?
I’m a general internist and medical educator working as a hospitalist at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.