Emergency Room Disaster Strikes

 

It's been a rather bland year for new educational releases. I have not seen this much excitement in awhile! My family watches the television show ER faithfully. When this Emergency Room program arrived, they were all a-twitter. It has nothing to do with the television show, but fans will love the hands-on interaction with real emergencies. Science bugs who don't like the television show will, of course, enjoy this one too. Your kids will think it is 'icky,' and 'gross,' and 'cool,' but it will never occur to them that they are learning science.

A massive earthquake has struck Los Angeles. All available doctors have been called out to help with the traumas. You arrive on the scene, and must select one of three disaster sites. There is a great tutorial for those who are not sure where to start. There are potential patients everywhere you look. The program contains 100 different cases. You will find full motion video clips throughout the program. Some have simple injuries, and some have life threatening injuries. You choose who you will treat.

Once you have selected a patient, you must keep track of their complaints, and transport them to the emergency room. There you will examine them, select the proper treatment, and discharge them (if you haven't killed them!) The treatment room is stocked with all of the medical equipment you will need. Everything works too! Pick up a stethoscope and place it over the patients chest (she is appropriately draped) and listen to her heart, watching for problems. You can look in ears, run blood test, give shots, bandage, and even take stool or urine samples. My kids thought this was totally disgusting, but they now understand that it can be an important part of medical testing.

If you patient needs more advanced testing, you can send him to radiology for x-rays. You will be able to view the x-ray, and then must make a diagnosis. If you need some help, you can ask others in the hospital, or visit the well stocked medical library to do some research. If you do a good enough job, you may be promoted to chief-of-staff. The current chief will be watching you like a hawk, however. He will let you know when you have bungled badly, and when you are doing a good job. Don't let him catch you in the doctors lounge playing video games though!

This is an intriguing way to learn biology, and more about emergency medicine. The program was developed with the help of a real emergency medicine doctor. While I can not personally vouch for it's accuracy, it seems pretty realistic. Your kids (and you!) will enjoy trying your hand at emergency medicine. Who knows, you may even find a budding doctor in your family.

 

 

Grading for Emergency Room: Disaster Strikes Educational Value: 5 Entertainment Value: 5 Replay Value: 4 1/2 Ages: 10+

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