Purpose The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is an effective but resource-intensive tool for assessing clinical competence. This study hypothesized that implementing a virtual OSCE in the Second Life (SL) platform in the metaverse as a cost-effective alternative will effectively assess and enhance clinical skills in emergency radiology while being feasible and well-received. The aim was to evaluate a virtual radiology OSCE in SL as a formative assessment, focusing on feasibility, educational impact, and students' perceptions.
Methods Two virtual 6-station OSCE rooms dedicated to emergency radiology were developed in SL. Sixth-year medical students completed the OSCE during a 1-hour session in 2022-2023, followed by feedback including a correction checklist, individual scores, and group comparisons. Students completed a questionnaire with Likert-scale questions, a 10-point rating, and open-ended comments. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Student t-test and the Mann-Whitney U test, and qualitative data through thematic analysis.
Results In total, 163 students participated, achieving mean scores of 5.1 ± 1.4 and 4.9 ± 1.3 (out of 10) in the two virtual OSCE rooms, respectively (P=0.287). One hundred seventeen students evaluated the OSCE, praising the teaching staff (9.3 ± 1.0), project organization (8.8 ± 1.2), OSCE environment (8.7 ± 1.5), training usefulness (8.6 ± 1.5), and formative self-assessment (8.5 ± 1.4). Likert-scale questions and students' open-ended comments highlighted the virtual environment's attractiveness, case selection, self-evaluation usefulness, project excellence, and training impact. Technical difficulties were reported by 13 students (8%).
Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating formative OSCEs in SL as a useful teaching tool for undergraduate radiology education, which was cost-effective and highly valued by students.
Purpose Immersive simulation is an innovative training approach in health education that enhances student learning. This study examined its impact on engagement, motivation, and academic performance in nursing and midwifery students.
Methods A comprehensive systematic search was meticulously conducted in 4 reputable databases—Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct—following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The research protocol was pre-registered in the PROSPERO registry, ensuring transparency and rigor. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument.
Results Out of 90 identified studies, 11 were included in the present review, involving 1,090 participants. Four out of 5 studies observed high post-test engagement scores in the intervention groups. Additionally, 5 out of 6 studies that evaluated motivation found higher post-test motivational scores in the intervention groups than in control groups using traditional approaches. Furthermore, among the 8 out of 11 studies that evaluated academic performance during immersive simulation training, 5 reported significant differences (P<0.001) in favor of the students in the intervention groups.
Conclusion Immersive simulation, as demonstrated by this study, has a significant potential to enhance student engagement, motivation, and academic performance, surpassing traditional teaching methods. This potential underscores the urgent need for future research in various contexts to better integrate this innovative educational approach into nursing and midwifery education curricula, inspiring hope for improved teaching methods.
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Purpose Undertaking a standard-setting exercise is a common method for setting pass/fail cut scores for high-stakes examinations. The recently introduced equal Z standard-setting method (EZ method) has been found to be a valid and effective alternative for the commonly used Angoff and Hofstee methods and their variants. The current study aims to estimate the minimum number of panelists required for obtaining acceptable and reliable cut scores using the EZ method.
Methods The primary data were extracted from 31 panelists who used the EZ method for setting cut scores for a 12-station of medical school’s final objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in Taiwan. For this study, a new data set composed of 1,000 random samples of different panel sizes, ranging from 5 to 25 panelists, was established and analyzed. Analysis of variance was performed to measure the differences in the cut scores set by the sampled groups, across all sizes within each station.
Results On average, a panel of 10 experts or more yielded cut scores with confidence more than or equal to 90% and 15 experts yielded cut scores with confidence more than or equal to 95%. No significant differences in cut scores associated with panel size were identified for panels of 5 or more experts.
Conclusion The EZ method was found to be valid and feasible. Less than an hour was required for 12 panelists to assess 12 OSCE stations. Calculating the cut scores required only basic statistical skills.
Purpose This study was conducted to determine whether a computer simulation of practical exercises in undergraduate medical pharmacology led to the realization of the intended learning outcomes.
Methods The study was a descriptive analysis of laboratory classes carried out using computer simulation programs. Five programs were used to teach practical pharmacology to undergraduate medical students at the Mulungushi University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The study period was January 2018 to December 2019. The computer programs included a pharmacokinetics simulator (CyberPatient), organ bath simulator (OBSim), AutonomiCAL for simulating autonomic pharmacology, and Virtual Cat and Virtual Rat (RatCVS) for simulating cardiovascular pharmacology. Students utilized these programs during their pharmacology laboratory classes, wrote reports, and answered relevant clinical questions.
Results The 5 programs provided easy and precise platforms for students to explore concepts and demonstrate knowledge of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, autonomic and cardiovascular pharmacology, and their clinical applications.
Conclusion The programs were effective learning tools. Students’ learning was easily assessed based on their laboratory reports. Although the computer programs met medical students’ learning needs, wet laboratory exercises are also needed to meet the needs of students who require practical laboratory skills.
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