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Published on: September 4, 2019
Experiencing virtual patients in clinical learning: a phenomenological study.
Samuel Edelbring1, Maryam Dastmalchi, Håkan Hult
1Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. samuel.edelbring@ki.se
Summary
Virtual patients (VPs) in medical education offer structured clinical reasoning practice. Students found VPs valuable for integrating knowledge but noted a lack of emotional interactivity compared to real patients.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Health Professions Education
- Digital Health
Background:
- Computerised virtual patients (VPs) are increasingly utilized in medical training.
- Understanding student experiences with VPs is crucial for effective integration.
- This study explores the nature of VPs from a student perspective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elicit the nature of virtual patients in a clinical setting.
- To understand student experiences with VPs as a learning activity.
- To inform the educational integration of VPs in clinical rotations.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative approach using phenomenology.
- Interviews with 31 medical students using VPs in rheumatology rotation.
- Analysis of student experiences with VPs.
Main Results:
- Students perceived VPs in relation to actual patients, clinical context, and learning activities.
- VPs represented typical cases, encouraging clinical reasoning and decision-making.
- Students found VPs integrated biomedical knowledge with clinical experience in a low-stress environment, but lacked emotional interactivity.
Conclusions:
- Virtual patient activities provide clinical reality experiences and active problem-solving opportunities.
- The effectiveness of VPs depends on technology and the surrounding educational environment.
- Theoretical frameworks of clinical reasoning and experiential learning can guide further VP integration.
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