CALIPER App vs OSCEr

The CALIPER App has been developed for paediatricians, family physicians, other healthcare workers, as well as parents worldwide. It is a user friendly and easy tool to assess a child’s laboratory test results using the latest reference value database developed based on values in healthy children and adolescents. Quickly and easily compare individual laboratory test results to a database of normal values (reference intervals) covering more than 100 tests routinely performed to assess children with various medical concerns. The CALIPER database has been validated and published in international medical journals and accepted worldwide as the most up to date reference resource available anywhere. Reference intervals represent the range of values that healthy, normal individuals are expected to display for various laboratory tests. When a patient’s results fall outside of this expected range, this alerts physicians and laboratory professionals to the need for follow-up testing and can signal that changes to treatment or monitoring are required. The reference intervals included in this application were determined as part of the Canadian Laboratory Initiative for Pediatric Reference Intervals (CALIPER) at the Hospital for Sick Children, an ongoing nation-wide study of normal values in paediatric lab results. Until recently, only outdated or inaccurate values were available for many paediatric lab tests. CALIPER provides reference intervals that reflect the influence of the rapid developmental and hormonal changes occurring during childhood. All reference intervals reported here were developed using the most up-to-date laboratory testing equipment available from Abbott Diagnostics. To use the app, simply select the test of interest, enter an individual’s results, and select their sex and age from the drop-down menu. An output will display how these results relate to CALIPER reference database, allowing for efficient and easy comparison. With your phone at hand, you will never be without this simple, portable tool for evaluating lab tests results on the go. For a complete list of tests available as part of this application, or for additional support, please visit the CALIPER website.

OSCEr (OSCE-review) is a freely-accessible, self-paced app made for medical students – by students – to help learn clinical skills and practice for OSCEs. This comprehensive app integrates diverse resources (like the Essentials of Clinical Examination Handbook and clinicalskillstoronto.com) and features checklists to practice history-taking, physical exams, or combined history and physicals – all while keeping track of progress. Users can focus on a body-system of interest, within which they can choose a specific assessment to either practice or test themselves under timed conditions (OSCE style), with or without hints or explanations. As each exam is completed, areas of competency and those needing further practice are highlighted, enabling a targeted approach to study and helping to make learning clinical skills both more efficient and enjoyable. Instructions: 1. Find an exam: • Select an organ from the main page (e.g. Neurology), use the search-bar to find an exam directly or use the ‘Quick Test’ button to do a random test. • If an organ-system is chosen, see all exam checklists belonging to that category. • If attempted before in ‘test’ mode, a progress-bar is shown next to the exam name with the average score achieved over all attempts. 2. Customize test/practice options: • Select a checklist (e.g. Headache) to see options before practicing/testing • Choose whether to be in test-mode (timed/scored vs. practice-mode) or show hints (explanations for each point). • Choose to do a history, physical, or combined history/physical checklist depending on the exam. • See details about previous test attempts, including number of attempts, score of last attempt, and average score of all attempts. • Select ‘Detailed Progress’ to see a point-by-point breakdown of previous attempts and a list of scores/times of all attempts. 3. Practice/Test an exam: • Choose ‘Start Test or Practice’ to begin the test/practice checklist • For each point (e.g. ‘Patient’s general appearance’) select done correctly (solid circle), with omissions (half circle) or incomplete (empty circle). • Once finished, score and time data are saved for progress tracking and later review. Acknowledgements: App Design Team: • Team Leader: Arjun Balachandar • Programmers: Ahmad Alhashemi (iOS), Zubair Baig (Android) • Designers: Matan Berson, Sonia Seto • Content Development: Adrian Cozma, Kota Talla ECEH Executive Team: • Yuhao Shi, Brandon Tang, Zahra Sohani, Florentina Teoderascu Checklist authors – Clinical Skills Toronto: • Adrian Cozma (checklist leader), Mathew Patenaude, Josephine DAbbondanza, Arti Dhoot, Emily Patterson, Preeni Rathuge, Fady Sedarous, Erene Stergiopoulos, Kazim Giby, Cecilia Alvarez-Veronesi, Ahmed Zaki, Joel Gupta, Groonie Tang