Treffer: Development of an educational research software with advisory role in the clinico-biochemical evaluation of hyponatremia.

Background: Τhe diagnosis of hyponatremia is not always easy due to the diversity of underlying disease states associated with the condition. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to develop a novel, free, simple stand alone educational research software (ERS) to assist students of medicine and healthcare sciences in understanding the diagnostic evaluation of hyponatremia. Μaterials and methods: The software was designed using: a) Microsoft Windows as operating system, b) C# .NET (4.0) as software component (plug-in), and c) C# (C Sharp) as (object-oriented) programming language. It can be distributed on Compact Disk (CD) and be run on any Personal Computer (PC) on Windows. Results and discussion: The developed software-which we have called DHS (Delimaris Hyponatriemia Software) v.1.0-doesn't demand special skills and expertise in computers. When the user logs into the system, a default page becomes visible with data in Greek language. Its instructional advantages (reasoning for usage) include mobilizing the user's interest, encouraging remembrance of the necessary teaching material, supporting training guidance and evaluation, practice over the timetabled program, and skill estimation. Conclusions: The free (ERS) could be a advantageous training tool in medical and healthcare education. Prospective work should center on additional assessment of its accuracy, its practicality on the teaching procedure and its approval by the healthcare students or professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]