BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

undergoing minor or intermediate procedures (limited urologic,
ophthalmologic, or ear, nose, and throat procedures and procedures
involving the extremities).
An inpatient on the other hand is "admitted" to the hospital and
stays overnight or for an indeterminate time, usually several days or weeks
(though some cases, like coma patients, have been in hospitals for years).
Due to concerns such as dignity, human rights and political
correctness, the term "patient" is not always used to refer to a person
receiving health care. Other terms that are sometimes used include health
consumer, health care consumer or client. These may be used by
governmental agencies, insurance companies, patient groups, or health
care facilities. Individuals who use or have used psychiatric services may
alternatively refer to themselves as consumers, users, or survivors.
In nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the term resident is
generally used in lieu of patient, but it is not uncommon for staff members
at such a facility to use the term patient in reference to residents. Similarly,
those receiving home health care are called clients.
The term 'virtual patient' is used to describe interactive computer
simulations used in health care education. Virtual patients allow the
learner to take the role of a health care professional and develop clinical
skills such as making diagnoses and therapeutic decisions The use of
virtual patient programs is increasing in healthcare education, partly in
response to increasing demands on health care professionals and education
of students but also because they allow opportunity for students to practice
in a safe environment. There are many different formats a virtual patient
may take. However the overarching principle is that of interactivity - a
virtual patient will have mechanisms for the learner to interact with the
case and material or information is made available to the learner as they
complete a range of learning activities.
Medical procedures
A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a
result in the care of persons with health problems. Medical procedure also
is define as the act or conduct of diagnosis, treatment, or operation.
Diagnosis (from ancient Greek διάγνωσις = discernment) is the
identification of the nature and cause of anything. Diagnosis is used in
many different disciplines. In medicine diagnosis is establishment of the
nature and cause of patient’s illness. A patient typically presents a set of
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