Core Concepts Before You Start

Five foundational concepts — sessions, permissions, the Apply logic, real-time sync, and no-save — that make the rest of TMA make sense.

Written By LJ Merchant

Last updated 1 day ago

Core Concepts Before You Start

These five concepts unlock everything else in TMA. Skim them once and the rest of the documentation will make sense.

1. Session ID

Every simulation in TMA lives inside a Session. A Session has a unique short ID (e.g. K1KYW1) that other devices use to join. The Session is what links the Controller to the Display Monitor — change a vital on the Controller and the Display Monitor in the same Session updates instantly. Two different Sessions are completely independent of each other.

Session IDs are case-insensitive (typing k1kyw1 works just like K1KYW1). The character set excludes the visually ambiguous O and 0.

2. Controller vs. Display vs. Viewer

TMA has two screens and two permission levels:

Term	What it is
Controller (screen)	The remote — where you change vitals, rhythms, alarms, etc. URL: /controller
Display Monitor (screen)	The patient monitor — what students see. URL: /display
Controller (permission)	A user who can access both screens and make changes.
Viewer (permission)	A user who can only see the Display Monitor. Read-only.
Original Owner	The user who created the session. Always has Controller permission and cannot be demoted or removed.

A single device can act as both Controller and Display if needed (useful for solo demos), but the normal setup is one device per role — e.g., instructor's phone as Controller, classroom TV or iPad as the Display.

3. The Apply Logic — The #1 Thing New Users Miss

The Controller has two columns for every vital: Displayed (what the Display Monitor is showing right now) and New (what you've staged to send).

When you adjust a slider or type a number on the Controller, you change the New value. The Display Monitor does not move yet.

Vitals only update on the Display Monitor when you click Apply New Vitals.

This is intentional — it lets you stage a dramatic change (e.g., HR jumping 60 → 180) and reveal it cleanly on a single click.

If a student is staring at the monitor confused why nothing is changing: you haven't hit Apply. Always hit Apply.

4. Real-Time Sync

Once you hit Apply, the change is instant on every connected Display Monitor and every Viewer device in the same Session — no refresh needed. Connect ten tablets to one Session and they all stay in lockstep.

5. No Login, No Save

There are no accounts. Closing the tab does not save a session's setup as a file. Sessions are server-side and persist even if you close your browser — but vital configurations are not saved as reusable files. If you want a repeatable starting point, use the built-in Scenario Library (68 pre-built clinical scenarios, one click to stage).