Gamified Learning in a Virtual World for Undergraduate Emergency Radiology Education: Quasi-Experimental Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Emergency radiology is crucial for training future doctors to diagnose urgent cases.
• Virtual simulations, gamified scenarios, and case-based learning improve practical skills and educational innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of learning emergency radiology in the virtual world Second Life.
• To evaluate team and individual performance and student perceptions of a gamified virtual learning experience.

Main Methods:

• Final-year medical students participated in a 2-week radiology clerkship using virtual clinical stations with 7 cases.
• Students worked in teams to resolve cases, followed by virtual discussions and seminars.
• The study was repeated over two years to assess reproducibility, with outcomes measured by case resolution, seminar assessments, and questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Strong team-based case resolution skills were observed, with mean scores improving from 7.36 in 2020-2021 to 8.41 in 2021-2022.
• Students rated the experience highly (average >8/10), particularly teaching staff, cases, organization, and virtual rooms.
• Cognitive load during case-solving decreased in the second year, though overall ratings were lower, potentially due to contextual factors like pandemic restrictions.

Conclusions:

• A gamified virtual learning experience in Second Life is feasible and reproducible for emergency radiology clerkships.
• The virtual environment facilitated strong student performance and positive engagement through integrated asynchronous and synchronous activities.
• Year-to-year variations in ratings may be linked to external factors, highlighting the need for consistent implementation.