Shadow Health

Pros: I like that I am able to do a simulation. It can be done at home. It provides information on systems.

Cons: It is culturally irrelevant. It does not provide the correct information when it gives the same answer multiple times. You can provide the proper information, but it will say you did not. It provides inconsistent information. The timeframe the company gives for assignments and assessments to be completed is off for nearly everyone in every class I have been in, and I am at the top of my class. The IT does not help and cannot answer questions about glitches in their system. Examples are when there are two different diagnoses for one person for the same body system, like hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. The company staff instead blame the student for the "grade," which students do not even ask about when they ask about it. They are not concerned about that, which is irrelevant to their questions. The simulation program would benefit from a greater emphasis on asking participants open-ended, bias-aware questions that avoid assumptions or generalizations, especially when engaging with patients from marginalized or underrepresented backgrounds.

Overall: Overall, this program is not helpful, unreliable, unreasonable, or unrealistic to real-world patients. It does not help the various patients or support the diverse patients and questions that support the social history, SDOH, and the way questions are asked in the real world. It sets healthcare providers up for implicit and explicit bias.