10 Health Benefits of Playing Video Games

A friend sent me this link and this video really makes sense. Never felt as good being into games as after I watched this :). No wonder I have such an easy time in med school... just kidding. It's kinda hard still hehe.

One interesting fact to have in mind though is that different games have different benefits. At the end of the day, playing Civilization is quite different from playing say Lego Star Wars on Nintendo DS.

Isla Calma - Virtual Reality at the Dentist

I read an abstract on this virtual reality application called Isla Calma. The idea is to let patients play a 3D-game while being subject to unpleasant procedures like biopsies, dentist work and such. According to the developers it can also be used to treat anxiety and stress. They did some research which showed that people like to play the game while at the dentist. It made them think less of the pain or fear involved with the visit! I definitely like the idea!
At the moment it only seems to be available in Spain at certain dentists. SO if you want to try it you need to go to the dentist... in Spain, which in itself is also quite nice :)
http://www.islacalma.com/index.html

World of Warcaft - healing

I used to be a real WoW-head. Raided three nights a week, quested the rest of the nights. It was so fun. But, you can't have fun all the time can you? I quit playing a while back and I miss it dearly sometimes. It was such a nice world. Controllable (apart from the occasional guild drama), bright colors and nice music... the list goes on.

My main character was a paladin, Hermes. A warrior/healer. Clad in shiny armor. Really cool :). I don't know why this is the only screen shot of him I still have.

So my job during the raids was healing. Make those hands shine bright and heal away. Keep the tanks alive! Boy oh boy I remember those nights.

Healing and then starting med school. It came naturally I guess :).

In WoW you're not treating psoriasis or appendicitis, just low HP. Simple as that. I miss it, but I'm looking forward to healing in reality as well. My hands are gonna shine all over the hospital xD.

The Joys of Parenthood

Me when I manage to carry my 13- month old kid to his bed without him waking.

Star Trek - Wouldn´t You Love To Work in Sickbay?

"Prometheus Class Sickbay" 

Imagine working in this room :). It would be awesome! I have a plan to open my own Science Fiction-themed clinic later. How about that?

It's interesting how much info there is on Star Trek. There is a detailed account on what types of Sickbays there are, who was treated there and why. There are also lists of technologies used and how they work :) gotto love it.

"Constitution Class Sickbay"

"Defiant Class Sickbay!

Which of the Sickbays would you prefer to work at, or be a patient at even?!

Which of the Sickbays do you prefer?

Fold It a Biochemistry Game

Fold it right!

Here is "classic" science game. It's been out a few years and it still seems to be going strong. The idea is to fold proteins. It's not as easy as it sounds. You can't do everything you like with the poor amino acids. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties need to respected for instance. So if you're into biochemistry, or even better, if you're not, here's the game for you!

It's not really a game for learning the biochemistry course in med school, but it might help you build som appreciation for what biosciences can do. I'm gonna install it again soon and try it out some more.

http://fold.it/portal

Nobelprize Site has Blood Typing Game and More

After a simple search I found the Blood Typing Game on the Nobel website. Yey! Just what I needed. They have quite a few other games. Very simple. Some are way too simple, but I love that they are trying. The Blood Typing Game looks quite new and has some nice sounds to it.



You can find more games at: http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/