SynthesisThe clinical teacher2025
Virtual and Augmented Reality in Undergraduate Medical Education in Psychiatry: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in The clinical teacher, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Teaching clinical communication skills through virtual patient-based learning: an umbrella review of systematic reviews.BMC medical education · 2026Pooled it
- Virtual and Augmented Reality in Undergraduate Medical Education in Psychiatry: A Systematic Review.The clinical teacher · 2025Pooled it
- The mediating role of knowledge conversion between digital literacy and scientific creativity among medical students.BMC medical education · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSimulation is widely used in medical education in all specialties; in psychiatry, it usually relies on standardised patients played by actors. Virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) have the potential to provide standardised and replicable clinical experiences for learners.
aimsThe aim of this study was to evaluate the available literature regarding the use of VR and AR simulation in undergraduate medical education in psychiatry.
methodsThe review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024527726) and followed PRISMA guidelines. Three electronic databases were searched using a pre-designed search string for studies of VR and AR in undergraduate medical student psychiatry education. Primary studies of any design were included. Two authors independently screened all references and extracted data. Learning methods and outcome measures were reported according to Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model. Methodological quality was evaluated using standardised tools.
resultsSearches yielded 7550 references, of which 19 studies from nine different countries were included. Learner satisfaction was generally positive, particularly with higher fidelity simulations. Fewer studies investigated changes in knowledge and skills; some reported improvements, which were often self-reported by students. Positive changes in learner attitudes, especially empathy and stigma reduction, were also reported. Most studies were based on single interventions.
conclusionsVR and AR simulation may be a useful addition to undergraduate psychiatry curricular teaching. However, significant gaps remain, including lack of long-term outcome data, limited evaluation of behavioural change and predominance of single-exposure interventions. Further research of the broader inclusion of VR and AR into teaching programmes will help to establish their value.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.