Parents' Guide to

D.M. Dinwiddie, Physician-in-Training

By Jinny Gudmundsen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Excellent resource for learning first aid.

Game Mac, Windows 2003
D.M. Dinwiddie, Physician-in-Training Poster Image

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What’s It About?

Developed by Health Media Lab with grants from the National Institutes of Health, D.M. DINWIDDIE, PHYSICIAN-IN-TRAINING teaches children to identify and treat 12 common medical conditions: burns, choking, insect bites and stings, bumps and bruises, cuts and bleeding, sunburn, sprains and broken bones, food poisoning, common cold, influenza, tonsillitis, and appendicitis. Kids play as D.M. Dinwiddie, a 12-year old girl or boy (player's choice) who is earning a Medical Arts Achievement Badge. Through a series of interactive adventures, D.M. finds injured characters in her virtual neighborhood, including her little brother who has an insect bite.

By looking at and talking with the injured characters, and then using a special MedLab (an onscreen database that serves as a reference and diagnostic guide) and her first-aid kit, D.M. is able to diagnose and treat the hurt people.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This title does an excellent job of teaching first aid in an interactive setting. Although its graphical presentation is simplistic, kid-testers enjoyed playing through the 12 adventures and welcomed learning first aid by helping virtual people instead of simply memorizing medical conditions.

Teachers, a school version is also available for $89.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what they learned. Have you suffered any of the conditions in the game? Do you think you'll remember what to do in an emergency? Can video games help teach practical real-life skills and knowledge?

Game Details

  • Platforms: Mac, Windows
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Health Media Lab
  • Release date: August 19, 2003
  • Genre: Educational
  • ESRB rating: NR
  • Last updated: November 15, 2019

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