Play: the two serious games built for this site, CPR Trainer and Medical Assisting Shift, in early versions

Both games are short browser games for study practice. They are not courses, they give no certificate, and they do not replace an instructor or a class with a manikin or a real clinic.

CPR Trainer rehearses the rhythm of compressions, full recoil, not stopping and a few early decisions. Medical Assisting Shift puts the player through a clinic shift as a time-management game. Both are early versions; the entry in the games directory and each game page carry the same status.

Free games from other makers that can be played today are collected in the directory by topic, with the month each one was last checked.

Both games repeat one routine under time pressure: the beat of compressions in CPR Trainer and the order of work in a clinic in Medical Assisting Shift. The rounds are short, so a learner can play several times in one sitting and notice which step slips.

Neither game gives a certificate, and neither replaces an instructor. Both are test builds, so the look, the scenes and the rooms can still change.

CPR Trainer is played with the space bar, the mouse button or a touch on the screen: hold to press, and let go fully after each press. A short guided warm-up shows the beat before a round starts. The pace follows the 100 to 120 compressions per minute that MedlinePlus gives for adult CPR, a round lasts about two minutes, and the round is compressions only. The game is written for players in the United States, so the call for help is 911. The CPR Trainer page names the sources and lists the skills.

In Medical Assisting Shift the player works one clinic shift as the medical assistant. Each patient has to be roomed, matched to the chart by name and birth date, and checked for all five vital signs after the player cleans their hands. The player then sets up the tray for the reason of the visit and keeps the schedule on time. Three visit types are open in the early version: suture removal, an injection and a 12-lead ECG. The first patient of a shift is a guided walk-through. The game page says what the game leaves out, including clinical step orders and measurements.

CPR Trainer suits a learner who wants to rehearse a rhythm that can be felt in the hands, one two-minute round at a time. Medical Assisting Shift suits a student in a medical assisting program who wants to rehearse routine and order of work. A person who needs hand placement on a chest or a credential needs a class or the exam body's own materials, and both game pages say where to look.

• The games are test builds, and the look, the scenes and the rooms can change.
• Neither game gives a certificate or counts as a course.
• Medical Assisting Shift is not exam preparation endorsed by any body.
• The status of each game is the same in the games directory entry and on the game page.

Practice games from other makers sit in the games directory, each with the month it was last read and a status. For CPR, Lifesaver is the best known, and the CPR games page compares the rest. Nursing simulations are on the nursing games page.