December 5, 2014By Lance Baily

abcdeSIM Serious Game Provides Immersive Simulation Learning Environments

abcdeSIM serious game

Today we look at AbcdeSIM, a successful “serious game” out of the Netherlands. Serious gaming technology not only gives us the tools to create such an immersive environment, it also allows us to train various clinical situations in a relatively short period of time. To ensure the highest quality learning experience, skilled clinicians at Erasmus University Medical Center and other institutions worked together with serious game developers at abcdeSIM and IJsfontein (software developer).

simulating abcde


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About AbcdeSIM:

AbcdeSIM is an online simulated emergency department with virtual patients. In an online realistic and immersive emergency department environment doctors and nurses are challenged to care for the sickest patients. Mistakes made in online patients are not fatal as in real-life, but important learning points, thereby improving everyday patient care. Doctors learn to accurately assess the medical condition of each patient, recognize life threatening illnesses and injuries, and resuscitate and stabilize in agina 2 / 6 ordered priority. AbcdeSIM includes a high-fidelity physiological model that contains more than 200 parameters for circulation, respiration and consciousness. This model creates a very realistic and immersive experience in which the trainee can see the direct results of their chosen diagnostics and treatment. Just like flight-simulators have increased airline safety, abcdeSIM aims to cost-effectively increase patient safety.



There are currently three different versions of abcdeSIM available:


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  • For emergency room doctors
  • For nurses
  • For GPs

Each game has its own elearning module prior to the serious game should be played. Also, the Serious Game has an online tutorial that explains the operation of the game and a dummy level where the equipment can be tested on a manikin. Each game then has five game levels and you can gain credits by playing the game.

The abcdeSIM module consists of 3 parts:

  1. The e-learning consisting of 7 chapters (the ABCDE-method, communication and in-hospital transportation of critically ill patients)
  2. A test for which the student must receive a score of 75% or higher to be able the virtual emergency department (the game part of the module)
  3. The Virtual Emergency Department where the student must attend to 6 seriously ill patients. Four patients are treated separately and the 5th and 6th patient are treated at the same time (the learning objective here triaging the severely of illness)

You can view the translated abcdeSim website here, and visit their english page for more english translated resources.


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