Educational Effects of Training With a Virtual Reality-Based Objective Structured Clinical Examination Software

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Clinical Skills Assessment

Background:

• Hiroshima University and BeRISE Corp developed VR OSCE™ software to enhance medical students' clinical skills.
• Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a crucial assessment tool in medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of VR OSCE™ training for medical students.
• To assess improvements in specific clinical skills parameters after VR-based training.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, pre- and post-intervention study involving 20 medical students.
• Students used VR OSCE™ for simulated patient interviews and examinations.
• Performance was assessed by instructors using predefined criteria and analyzed via paired t-test; a questionnaire gauged participant perceptions.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements (p < 0.01) were observed in all five assessed parameters post-training.
• Remarkable gains were noted in medical interviews/physical examinations and presentation skills.
• Overall performance scores also showed substantial enhancement, with participants finding VR OSCE™ effective for OSCE preparation.

Conclusions:

• VR OSCE™ training demonstrated significant educational impact on medical students' clinical performance.
• The immersive nature of VR likely contributes to its effectiveness in medical training.
• VR-based digital simulation holds considerable potential for advancing medical education.