Designing a virtual patient as an interprofessional enactment: lessons learnt from the process

This study is based on observations of the design process of a virtual patient (VP), which aimed to facilitate interprofessional learning. By following the design process of this particular VP, this study aimed to trace how different practices and the knowledge within these practices were enacted as a VP and to understand the design team's difficulties and challenges. Drawing upon actor-network theory (ANT), the study demonstrates how technology and various practices in healthcare and education were enrolled to build the VP and the different translations that took place during the process. We discuss the results by reflecting on the intertwined relationship among the different enactments of a patient in the different professional practices, the enactment of pedagogical intentions and the role of technology in the design process.