Teaching Cardiopulmonary Auscultation to Medical Students using a Virtual Patient Simulation Technology

Objectives: Virtual patient simulation (VPS) is used in the education of health care professionals. This method brings an opportunity for the learner to examine necessary diagnostic and therapeutic skills. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of VPS on clinical reasoning abilities of medical students and to evaluate their attitude towards VPS in clinical endocrinology course in a teacher centered educational environment. Methods: Fifty-one medical students in their 6th academic year were simply randomized in two groups, the simulation and the control. The students in the simulation group were provided by an application which presented them virtual case scenarios on diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules and osteomalacia. All the students sat for a diagnostic test at the beginning and at the end of the course. The test comprised a series of essay questions matched for their academic level and closely related to the case scenarios. They were also asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their attitude towards the application. Results: Participants in both groups did not have any statistical differences in scientific background in basic sciences (P=0.672) and prior clinical examinations (P=0.376). At completion of the course the mean score of the students in the simulation group improved significantly compared to the students in the control group by 3.5 vs. 1.0 points (P=0.001). The students found the application worthful and showed a positive attitude towards it. Conclusions: Virtual patient simulation improved clinical reasoning abilities of medical students in the context of a traditional teaching/learning environment.

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SUCCESS OF VIRTUAL PATIENT SIMULATION AT IMPROVING MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC HYPERKALEMIA

Journal of the American College of Cardiology ◽

10.1016/s0735-1097(21)04692-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (18) ◽

pp. 3338

Author(s):

Amy Larkin ◽

Donald Blatherwick

Keyword(s):

Patient Simulation ◽

Virtual Patient

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Demonstration: Virtual Patient Immersive Trainer to Train Perceptual Skills Using Augmented Reality

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181320641106 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 470-472

Author(s):

Christen E. Sushereba ◽

Laura G. Militello

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Augmented Reality ◽

Student Performance ◽

Group Interaction ◽

Virtual Patient ◽

Perceptual Cues ◽

Perceptual Skills ◽

Individual Interaction ◽

Severity Of Injury ◽

Microsoft Hololens

In this session, we will demonstrate the Virtual Patient Immersive Trainer (VPIT). The VPIT system uses augmented reality (AR) to allow medics and medical students to experience a photorealistic, life-sized virtual patient. The VPIT supports learners in obtaining the perceptual skills required to recognize and interpret subtle perceptual cues critical to assessing a patient’s condition. We will conduct an interactive demonstration of the virtual patient using both a tablet (for group interaction) and an AR-enabled headset (Microsoft HoloLens) for individual interaction. In addition, we will demonstrate use of the instructor tablet to control what the learner sees (e.g., injury types, severity of injury) and to monitor student performance.

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