It's designed for all age groups. Players start the game with five ailments passed out randomly. Whoever becomes healthy first wins the game. Players learn the common and medical names of the diseases, as well as symptoms, causes, and treatments. They visit specialists, clinics, drugstores, and even a voodoo doctor.
Infection is a fun way to learn about health.
The children at my mother's day care center enjoy playing Infection and can now tell you what causes rickets. A second edition of the game, designed for high school students, is in the works. I enjoyed reading your article on standardized patients and student clinical evaluations in the last issue of HealthState. It was interesting, well presented and gave a clear and accurate account of how the testing is carried out. Like the medical school OSCEs described in your article, the program requires students to examine patients in a clinical setting, make diagnoses and develop a treatment plan within a set amount of time.