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Activity (Hands-On)Grades 3 - 5

At the Doctor's

Photo shows four adults sitting and reading in chairs in a medical office waiting room, while in the background a woman in a lab coat talks to another person.How long is the waiting time at the doctor's office?

In this simulation of a doctor's office, students play the roles of physician, nurse, patients, and time-keeper, with the objective to improve the patient waiting time. They collect and graph data as part of their analysis. This serves as a hands-on example of using engineering principles and engineering design approaches (such as models and simulations) to research, analyze, test and improve processes.

Engineers create models that mimic real-life situations. They use the models to conduct simulations to better understand the problem and patterns, and then experiment and test new processes before making make any changes to the real-life situations. The processes involved in healthcare administration and delivery have become as complex as manufacturing and distribution systems, so that engineers now examine them to look for ways to eliminate inefficiencies in time and money.

After this activity, students should be able to:

  • Identify problems in a healthcare setting, such as a doctor's office.
  • Develop and apply a simulation to solve a problem.

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