Doctors and surgeons are apparently using the out of fashion social notworking site Second Life to train themselves.

The online 3-D is being used to simulate real crisis in the operating room. Imperial College London has built a virtual hospital, where students can learn their way around an O.R. before they enter the real thing. They can test their knowledge in the Virtual Respiratory Ward by interviewing patient avatars who are usually professors or volunteers who are given scripts, ordering tests, diagnosing problems, and recommending treatment.

Using software which was written at San Jose State University, clinical students can use the Heart Murmur Sim, which lets users listen to real cardiac sounds, training them to listen to a “patient’s” chest and identify heart murmurs. Students wear a heads-up display, similar to those used by pilots, which shows data like the patient’s blood pressure, heart rhythm, and medical history. Then they click on objects such as a medication dispenser or the controls of an IV pump.

When an object is clicked on, it triggers another heads-up display, allowing students to select, for instance, a certain medication, the dosage, and how to administer it. The patient avatar will react realistically. Apparently if a student gives a patent too much nitroglycerine the avatar’s blood pressure will sink and he’ll go into shock. We would have thought he would have exploded, but we are not doctors.