KBIT is a simple instructional tool to use. In fact, it should not take you more than a few minutes to learn how to use it. Here we provide an overview of the tool.
If you are a non-subscribing site visitor: just go to the KBIT home page and select Demo. Then follow the instructions immediately below.
If you are a licensed subscriber: First enter your log-in ID and password.
INSTRUCTIONS: First select a problem module. Instructions associated with any given problem are exactly the same and consist of three components: 1) review of the problem's disease differentials and each disease's pattern of prototypical sign and symptoms, 2) training in disease competitors, and 3) practice cases. Students can use any of these three components in any manner or sequence they desire. There is no right or wrong way to use KBIT. If you wish, print the following instructions for easy reference.
COMPONENT ONE: Review of the problem's disease differentials and each disease's pattern of prototypical signs and symptoms. Once the desired Problem has been selected, the home page for the problem opens. The left-hand column lists the disease differentials for the selected Problem. To the right of these differentials are other columns. It is highly recommended that you start each Problem module by looking at the prototypical pattern of signs and symptoms associated with the selected disease, which are found under the Prototype column. If desired, you can also see an example case representing a fairly prototypical portrayal of that disease.
Returning to the Problem's home page, select and review the remaining disease differential and their prototypical patterns. We suggest that you not precede to either training component two or three until at the very least all of the disease prototypes for the problem at hand have been reviewed. However, as previously stated, you are still free to utilize all that is within KBIT in any manner and sequence you determine.
COMPONENT TWO: Training in disease competitors. At the heart of differential diagnosis is the development of pattern matching and pattern discrimination capabilities. Pattern matching and pattern discrimination involve learning which signs and symptoms are shared by one or more disease differentials (represent shared pattern matching signs and symptoms) as well as learning those signs and symptoms that discriminate one disease from another (represent pattern discriminating signs and symptoms).
The 'Learn Competitors' column (middle column) offers an opportunity to quickly comprehend which diseases represent key competitors for any given disease differential. The Learn Competitors column also enables the learner to directly compare and contrast the key signs and symptoms that match (are shared between) and discriminate (differentiate) a given disease and its key disease competitors.
Note that there is at least one primary competitor for each disease; some diseases have two or more competitors. By clicking on a selected primary, secondary or tertiary competitor for a given disease, the student can quickly review the signs and symptoms that match and discriminate the selected disease from that particular competitor. Once you have a working familiarity with and understanding of this instructional element, the learner is ready to move on to Component Three: Practice Cases. Again, you are free to review, or not review, all of the information contained within the Competitor columns before moving to Practice Cases. However, we do highly recommend that you review all of the information contained within the learn Competitors column as it serves as good preparation for the practice cases.
COMPONENT THREE: Practice Cases. The far right column provides access to all the practice cases associated with the problem at hand. Learners consistently report that the most valuable learning element of KBIT (and the most fun) is the opportunity to diagnose the many practice cases associated with each Problem module. These practice cases can be accessed at any time and any place, and each diagnosis is accompanied by immediate, case-specific, feedback.
This feedback will reinforce your evolving declarative knowledge of disease patterns, and improve your procedural skills at pattern matching and pattern discrimination. Although we recommend moving sequentially through Components One, Two and Three, many students want to move on to the practice cases as quickly as possible once they have acquired knowledge of disease pattern prototypes. If you want to skip (at least initially) the Learn Competitors columns, feel free to do so! Just remember, to develop a rudimentary level of DDX competence in any given Problem you need exposure to as many practice opportunities and corrective feedback as is possible. KBIT's large number of practice cases coupled with immediate, on-line feedback is designed to expedite your transformation from a naive or novice student doctor to a competent practitioner.
CONCLUSION: In summary, the key to the development of DDX competence involves both the attainment of declarative knowledge and procedural capabilities. Traditional medical training provides perhaps an overabundance of declarative, and unfortunately, little in the way of opportunities to develop the procedural knowledge and skills that expedite the development of DDX competence. We have emphasized how DDX competence is particularly dependent upon procedural knowledge frequently referred to as Pattern Recognition (pattern matching and pattern discrimination) capabilities.
KBIT is the only medical educational tool currently available that provides the instruction and feedback necessary to both understand what is meant by pattern matching and pattern discrimination, and, the practice cases needed to develop both pattern matching and pattern discrimination capabilities. Don't worry about learning how to use KBIT - just use KBIT and the Problem-specific knowledge base and Pattern Recognition capabilities will follow. A little practice with KBIT and you'll get it.
Enjoy!
Sincerely, ACDET