Virtual reality-assisted learning: enhancing psychomotor competence in midwifery nursing students

The integration of virtual reality (VR) in nursing and midwifery teaching has emerged as a promising global trend. Educators have adopted VR to enhance students' education and ensure safe clinical practice.

To evaluate the impact of virtual reality-assisted learning on enhancing psychomotor competence among midwifery nursing students.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Faculty of Nursing, Suez Canal University, specifically in the simulation clinical laboratory and the antenatal outpatient clinic of the university hospital. Stratified random sample of 60 midwifery undergraduate nursing students were divided equally into study and control groups. Data collection occurred between September 2024 and January 2025 using five tools: a self-administered questionnaire, the System Usability Scale, Leopold's maneuver checklist, an antenatal maternal physical assessment tool, and a student satisfaction questionnaire.

VR-assisted training led to higher post-test knowledge scores compared to traditional methods, though the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.35). There was no statistically significant difference between the study and control groups in psychomotor competence for both Leopold's maneuver and maternal assessment prior to the intervention (p = 0.11 and p = 0.07, respectively). However, following the VR intervention, the study group demonstrated significantly higher psychomotor competence in Leopold's maneuver (43.13 ± 1.46; 42.6 ± 3.82) and maternal physical assessment (36.33 ± 1.81; 37.6 ± 0.67) compared to the control group (36.53 ± 2.29; 32.77 ± 4.28) and (30.13 ± 3.98; 27.3 ± 3.96) in immediate and follow-up posttests respectively (p = 0.000). Additionally, 97% of the study group achieved Grade A (superior psychomotor performance) based on system usability with VR, and 63.3% reported being extremely satisfied with the VR learning experience.

The study concluded that midwifery nursing students who received virtual reality-assisted training demonstrated better psychomotor competence, superior performance, and greater satisfaction compared to those trained using traditional simulation methods. However, although the VR group showed higher knowledge scores, the difference was not statistically significant.

It is recommended to incorporate VR-assisted learning into midwifery and maternal health education to enhance students' psychomotor skills. Ongoing collection of student feedback is essential for continuous improvement of the VR learning experience.