Exploring Extended Reality in Physician Assistant/Associate Educational Training Programs: A State-of-the-Art...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Technology
• Physician Assistant (PA) Programs
• Extended Reality (XR) Pedagogy

Background:

• Emerging technologies like Extended Reality (XR) are increasingly integrated into medical education.
• The accessibility of XR in physician assistant (PA) education necessitates an evaluation of its pedagogical value.
• Current modalities require comparison against XR's potential for enhancing knowledge retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review XR pedagogical approaches utilized in PA education.
• To assess the value and impact of XR on learning within PA programs.
• To identify the extent to which XR can improve knowledge retention over traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across databases.
• 228 unique articles published between 2012 and August 2023 were identified.
• 8 articles met the eligibility criteria after screening for relevance, date, language, study method, and population sample.

Main Results:

• Research focused on XR integration and proof-of-concept in educational settings.
• Both qualitative and quantitative data were employed in the selected studies.
• Findings suggest XR has potential to supplement existing PA education methods, though further critical analysis is required.

Conclusions:

• Limited research exists specifically on XR in PA education.
• Studies indicate XR use in medical education can boost student confidence and improve learning perception.
• While not yet statistically superior to didactic learning, XR may enhance student engagement and open avenues for further learning.