Bow-Tie Builder

Faculty area

Set settings

About this set Set title

Graded in Populi Attempts allowed

Applies when a student opens this from Populi. Retakes keep the student’s highest score, so a weaker retake is recorded for you but never replaces a better grade.

Bow-ties

Directive

The instruction shown above the diagram.

Actions to take

Condition

Parameters to monitor

Tick the box beside each correct answer. Unticked rows are distractors.

Patient recordnurses’ notes, vitals and labs shown beside the bow-tie

Each tab is a Nurses’ Notes list (timestamped entries) or a table (vitals, labs), as in the case study. Delete every tab to hide the record.

Set complete

Your saved questions

Saved to your BCON account.

This is your personal question bank, saved to your BCON account and available on any device you sign in on. Only you can see it. For sets the whole department can see and reuse, use the Shared library tab instead.

Shared bow-tie library

Visible to every faculty member signed into this area. “Copy student link” gives a plain link/embed code that anyone can view — no login required — and it stays live even if you edit the set later.

How to use the Bow-tie builder

Build a bow-tie clinical-judgment question, step by step

Name the setOn the Build tab, click Edit settings on the grey bar at the top to set the title (e.g. “Recognizing sepsis at home”) and how many graded attempts students get.
Pick or add a bow-tieThe list on the left holds the set. Click a bow-tie to edit it, or Add bow-tie to start another. A green dot means it is complete; amber means it still needs something, and the line under the title says what.
Fill in the three columnsActions to take, Condition and Parameters to monitor sit side by side like the bow-tie. Type each choice and tick the box beside the correct ones: 2 actions, 1 condition and 2 parameters. Unticked rows are distractors.
Add the patient record (optional)Open the Patient record strip to add Nurses’ Notes or a table (vitals, labs). Delete every tab to hide the record entirely.
Watch the student viewThe right-hand panel shows the bow-tie as students will see it and updates as you type. Fill the slots and click Check answer to test your key. Your edits are kept as you go; there is no separate save for each bow-tie.
Reuse questions (optional)Click Save to my bank to keep the bow-tie you are editing in your personal My bank tab for reuse in other sets.
Try the whole setClick Try it as a student → at the bottom (or the tab) to work through every bow-tie exactly as students will.
Publish & shareClick Save to shared library to save the set — you get a student link (no login needed) and can edit it later. Or click Get embed code for a one-off iframe to paste into your LMS.

Tip: Use Save to shared library for anything you’ll reuse or edit. The embed code is a fixed snapshot — it can’t be edited after you copy it.

Faculty sign-in required

Actions to take

Condition

Parameters to monitor