Enhancing Clinical Skills Through Virtual Reality: A Study on 12-Lead Electrocardiogram Placement in Medical Education.

Background Virtual reality (VR) is typically used for entertainment or gaming, but many studies have shown that the applications of VR can also extend to medical and clinical education. This is because VR can help health professionals learn complex subjects, improve memory, and increase interest in abstract concepts. In the context of medical education, the immersive nature of a VR setting allows students and clinicians in training to interact with virtual patients and anatomical structures in a three-dimensional environment or from a clinician's point of view. The benefits of VR also include its ability to allow students to practice clinical skills repeatedly at their own pace and make mistakes without negative consequences to real-life patients. Objective This study aims to investigate how VR is beneficial for students learning clinical skills. We used a Likert scale survey to measure the participants' perception of VR and assess which part of the VR experience was most advantageous to students. Specifically, this study aimed to evaluate whether the Acadicus (Arch Virtual, Madison, WI, US) 12-lead placement VR program offered education benefits to students and whether the tool is something they would consider using in the future for learning. Methods Seventy-five first-year osteopathic medical students participated in this study. After completing a 45-minute immersive VR session using the Acadicus program to learn how to place electrocardiogram (ECG) leads on a patient, the students were surveyed with a 23-item Likert scale questionnaire. The survey assessed whether the students had ever used VR or augmented reality (AR) for education or entertainment and their preferred learning styles. Finally, it surveyed their opinions on how they felt the VR experience enhanced their learning and whether this tool was useful academically. Results The survey results highlight a generally positive impact on students' understanding and engagement with the 12-lead ECG placement. The highest-scored aspects of the VR experience were its ability to engage users (mean score: 3.77) and the kinesthetic/tactile aspects of the experience (mean score: 3.71). However, the VR experience scored lower in the areas that indicated that the tool helped students understand the spatial and procedural nuances of ECG lead placement, with mean scores of 3.43 for understanding "how" to place leads and 3.38 for understanding "where" leads should be placed. Conclusions The findings indicated that most participants found that the VR tool (Acadicus) effectively enhanced their understanding and engagement with the clinical procedure. This study recognized the positive impact that VR technology had on students' confidence levels in the clinical skill of 12-lead ECG placement. Furthermore, based on the data collected, VR is beneficial in medical education and should be integrated into the curriculum of more medical schools due to its ability to enhance student engagement, cater to diverse learning styles, and provide a safe environment for repeated practice of clinical skills. However, there is still a need for continued research regarding VR simulations for clinical skills and with larger groups of participants from different medical institutions. Future research should explore advancements such as haptic feedback integration and gesture tracking necessary for making VR as reflective of reality as possible in the use of VR in medical training.