RESUMO
High-technology diagnostic instruments have advanced markedly in recent years. However, young physicians and clinicians tend to become too dependent on these sophisticated instruments and neglect the importance of bedside clinical skills. I report about a new multimedia cardiology patient simulator, recently developed through the application of new digital and computer technology, that is able to play back selected physical findings (jugular venous waves ; arterial pulses of carotid, brachial, radial and femoral arteries ; and cardiac impulses), cardiac sounds and murmurs, and respiratory sounds that have been recorded from actual patients. The examiners use an ordinary stethoscope. This simulator effectively improves the bedside clinical skills of medical students, nurses, and general physicians. This simulator will soon become an essential tool for the bedside medical training of physicians, medical students, nurses, and paramedics throughout the world.