USE OF ILIAD TO IMPROVE DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMANCE OF NURSE PRACTITIONER STUDENTS

Nurse practitioners (NPs) have dual goals as primary care providers, c ombining the traditional goals of nursing with extended goals as diagn osticians. Diagnostic reasoning, therefore, is a critical component of NP education. Iliad, a computerized diagnostic reasoning expert syste m, has been used effectively to teach diagnostic skills to medical stu dents. A pilot study was undertaken to determine the effects of Iliad training on NP students' diagnostic skill performance and to identify technical and instructional issues of implementation. The study found that the use of Iliad improved NP students' diagnostic reasoning, and that the training effects were modified by prior nursing experience. S uccessful use of Mad required planning, faculty commitment, and techni cal support.