Pediatric cardiology teaching is commonly available during teaching of Pediatrics. This includes both theoretical teaching as well as practical (clinical) bedside teaching, with variable time deviated for this purpose, depending on the curriculum of each Institution. Basic principles of physical findings (auscultatory, etc) of valvular heart disease and echocardiography (including anatomic and functional evaluation of heart) are also available to students during teaching of Cardiology.

The IP aims to provide a novel approach in medical teaching: whereas traditional teaching is divided into theoretical lectures and traditional bedside clinical teaching, the IP course combines both (theoretical lectures and practical clinical exercise) by replacing bedside teaching with multimedia-based "virtual" evaluation of selected patients. Specifically off line reproduction of cardiac sounds for teaching purposes is novel approach of cardiac auscultation teaching, allowing for concomitant listening by teacher and student, not yet established or routinely used into medical teaching.

Furthermore, the IP teaching program provides students a natural stepwise diagnostic approach, very similar to their future daily praxis and fundamental for the correct medical diagnosis: from "sound" to "ultrasound", the title of the IP course emphasizes the paramount importance of correct interpretation of clinical findings before referring patients to further diagnostic tests. Finally, students are provided basic knowledge of modern diagnostic tests namely echocardiography and its indications, a non-invasive, safe, readily available imaging tool which allows for the final diagnosis of almost all cases of congenital heart disease.

In summary the IP course, although restricted into the topic of pediatric cardiology, provides a novel approach in medical teaching overall, by combining theoretical and clinical teaching, replacing bedside teaching by "virtual" evaluation of patients, using modern multimedia means in an interactive teaching environment, still though emphasizing the diachronic principle of correct medical diagnosis, namely the stepwise approach from history and physical evaluation to appropriate use of diagnostic tests.