Education has come a long way with the introduction of technology. Although, we more commonly hear about advancements of other fields when it comes to technology, such as medicine. Medicine has had many major advancements in the last two decades, and it is up to medical professionals to stay up to date on these latest advancements in science. With new treatments and diseases emerging all the time, it makes you wonder how is it possible for current doctors and students to stay up to date on their training? One method that has entered the training system in the last decade is the use of virtual reality.
Virtual reality has become a very popular use for entertainment for people. The three dimensional and extremely life-like digital animations make it easy to see why one would want to incorporate technology like this into the classroom. In a study conducted by Andreatta et al., it was found that virtual reality used in training for emergency medical personnel held significant advantages over other alternatives for both training and assessment such as: flexible, consistent, and on-demand training (2008). The use of virtual reality to train medical professionals can provide an enriched learning experience. For some students, it is often a waiting game to practice skills on a patient when every patient has a different situation. With the use of virtual reality, students can practically practice for every practical scenario they may encounter.
Some institutions are taking the use of virtual reality a step further by not only offering medical training through virtual reality, but full medical school programs. Coventry University began offering a course in clinical management in September of 2007, through Second Life, an online virtual world (Stott, 2007). This program holds problem-based learning groups to train students to manage healthcare facilities. St. George’s Medical School, is following Coventry University’s lead by developing their own online medical courses using Second Life. Harden and Hart discuss the value that having an international virtual medical school (IVIMEDS), could have on learning. Providing international medical training accessible to anyone worldwide would meet the demands in medical education for greater globalization, a common core curriculum, improved access for training, and more flexible and student centered training programs.
The majority of traditional medical training happens by medical students dissecting cadavers; however, the use of cadavers has several limitations including availability of cadavers, the cost and substantial time commitment. Virtual reality methods could become a valuable resource in students training by overcoming this drawback (de Faria et al., 2016). Vieira de Faria et al., noted the virtual reality method of training yielded a significant gain of knowledge in students when compared with traditional techniques. Though the use of virtual reality in medical training has been shown to have many advantages, one disadvantage would be increased educational costs and limited space for audiences (de Faria et al., 2016). Now, virtual reality can never replace the real life experience that is required to be a medical professional, but it can enhance student learning during training. It is likely that the use of virtual reality will soon become commonplace in many rigorous training programs where traditional training methods are very costly.
References:
Andreatta, P. B., Maslowski, E., Petty, S., Shim, W., Marsh, M., Hall, T., Stern, S., & Frankel, J. (2008). Virtual reality triage training provides a viable solution for disaster-preparedness. Science of Simulation in Emergency Medicine, 17(8), 870-876. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2010.00728.x
Harden, R. M., & Hart, I. R. (2002). An international virtual medical school (IVIMEDS): the future for medical education? Medical Teacher, 24(3), 261-267. doi:10.1080/01421590220141008
Stott, D. (2007). Attending medical school in virtual reality. Student BMJ, 15.
Vieira de Faria, J. W., Teixeria, M. J., Moura Sousa, L., Otoch, J. P., & Figueiredo, E. G. (2016). Virtual and stereoscopic anatomy: when virtual reality meets medical education. Journal of Neurosurgery, 125, 1105-1111. doi: 10.3171/2015.8.JNS141563.