The clinical pathology laboratory in 360° virtual reality

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pathology
• Virtual Reality Technology

Background:

• Traditional didactic methods in clinical pathology education present limitations for remote learning.
• Enhancing learner engagement and understanding of laboratory environments is crucial for effective medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of 360° virtual reality (VR) tours against traditional PowerPoint (PP) presentations in clinical pathology education.
• To assess the impact of VR integration on student understanding, interactivity, relevance, and engagement.

Main Methods:

• Development of seven 360° VR tours for Microbiology and Transfusion Services laboratories.
• A controlled crossover study involving 171 medical students, randomly assigned to VR or PP groups.
• Evaluation through surveys and assessments measuring key educational metrics.

Main Results:

• VR participants reported significantly higher interactivity (P < .001) and engagement (P = .004) than PP participants.
• VR tours also led to higher scores in understanding the laboratory environment (P = .6).
• While assessment scores were marginally lower in the VR group (6.2 vs 6.5; P = .1), the overall experience was more interactive and engaging.

Conclusions:

• Integrating 360° VR tours into the clinical pathology curriculum effectively enhances interactivity and learner engagement.
• VR offers a scalable and immersive solution for remote medical education, overcoming limitations of traditional approaches.
• This technology promotes a more engaging and effective learning experience for medical students in pathology.