Experience of using the Virtual Reality Neurologic Examination Teaching tool (Version 2.0) to educate medical students

Abstract

Abstract Background Neurologic examination is a basic procedure that medical students must be competent in. However, there are limitations in the methods used for educating students about neurologic symptoms because light reflexes, nystagmus, facial palsies, corneal reactions, or doll reflexes cannot be expressed by standardized patients (SPs) at will. Therefore, we developed the Virtual Reality Neurologic Examination Teaching tool Version 2.0 (VRNET 2.0) to educate emergency medicine students in this regard. This study aimed to introduce VRNET 2.0 and report the experience of applying it for student education. Using VRNET 2.0, instructors can apply neurologic findings to virtual patients. This would help students understand neurologic examination by selecting various commands and interacting with a virtual patient. Methods This retrospective study analyzed the responses to a questionnaire administered to fourth-year medical students after the completion of a practice run. Results Compared to the training method using SPs + VRNET in 2019, training using VRNET 2.0 in 2021 was found to be superior in terms of satisfaction (8.18 [SP + VRNET] vs 8.81 [VRNET 2.0], p = 0.011) and difficulty (7.95 [SP + VRNET] vs 7.25 [VRNET 2.0], p = 0.040). Conclusion Neurologic examination training using VRNET 2.0 for medical students showed higher satisfaction and lower difficulty than the training program combining SP and VRNET.