Summary

A custom-made Virtual Reality (VR) module significantly enhances medical students' practical skills in shoulder dislocation reduction, particularly when used without a prior theoretical review.

Abstract

Introduction

Joint reductions are essential skills to be learned in medical training, yet opportunities for hands-on practice are often limited and can not be ensured for all students. Virtual Reality (VR) provides a promising tool for safe, controlled, and repeatable practice without risking patient harm. A custom-made VR module was developed to train a shoulder reduction technique; however, its academic validity is unknown. This study aims to evaluate the academic impact of a custom-made VR module on medical students' practical knowledge in shoulder dislocation reduction. The hypothesis is that the developed module significantly enhances practical learning.

Methods

A prospective cohort study in 40 fourth-year medical students. Students with medical training in VR or those who failed the theoretical orthopaedic and trauma course were excluded. The students were randomly divided into 2 groups: control (without VR practice) and VR (with VR practice). Each group was randomly subdivided into subgroups: with and without a prior theoretical session (PTS) review on shoulder dislocation and reduction technique:
Control Group (n=20): without VR practice.
Group 1 (n=10): with PTS
Group 2 (n=10): without PTS
VR Group (n=20): with 10 minutes of VR practice.
Group 3 (n=10): with PTS
Group 4 (n=10): without PTS
Practical knowledge was assessed through an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) on shoulder dislocation which was evaluated by two experienced orthopaedic surgeons, blinded to the study. Statistical analysis included ANOVA test (p=0.05).

Results

Group 3 significantly outperformed Group 2 in the OSCE for shoulder reduction (p=0.04). A significant trend (p=0.06) towards better scores was observed in Group 1 versus Group 2, with no differences (p=0.119) between the subgroups that practiced with VR (Groups 3 and 4).

Discussion And Conclusion

The custom-made VR module enhances the acquisition of practical skills to reduce a dislocated shoulder in medical students, especially if they do not receive a prior theoretical review. The study suggests that integrating VR into medical curricula could provide a valuable supplement to traditional learning methods, offering a controlled, patient-safe environment for skill acquisition. Future research should explore long-term retention of skills and broader applications of VR in medical education.