Trauma team training in a distributed virtual emergency room.

A distributed simulation environment for training and evaluation of medical trauma teams is presented. Connected through the Internet, the geographically remote team members can communicate and interact using the clinically realistic environment provided by the MATADOR simulator. The scenario demonstrates an injured person's arrival at the hospital, and the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges that must be met in order to stabilize the virtual patient. Experiences from a field trial indicate that the simulator is useful both for professionals and medical students.