Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41547744›Full record

Observational studyBMC medical education2026

The effectiveness of virtual reality simulated scenarios at improving medical students' confidence and engagement in clinical communication: an observational cohort study.

William J Waldock, Alexandra M Bucko, Naomi Ehigie, Corey Briffa, Agirta Zalli, Celia Brown, Adrian Cowell, Amir H Sam, Risheka Walls

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

William J Waldock *Imperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Alexandra M Bucko *Imperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Naomi Ehigie *Imperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Corey BriffaImperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Agirta ZalliImperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Celia BrownImperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Adrian CowellImperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Amir H SamImperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK.
Risheka WallsImperial College London Medical School, Reynolds Building, Charing Cross Campus, London, W6 8RP, UK. r.walls@imperial.ac.uk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEffective communication is a core component of medical training, yet opportunities to practise emotionally challenging conversations such as those involving distressed families are often limited in clinical placements. Virtual reality (VR) offers a scalable, immersive teaching tool that may enhance student confidence and engagement in communication skills training.

methodsA prospective observational study was conducted with fifth-year medical students in their penultimate year of study at Imperial College School of Medicine. Participants engaged in a VR session simulating an emotionally charged conversation with an upset family. Pre- and post-session questionnaires assessed self-reported confidence using a 5-point Likert scale. Student engagement was measured objectively using the validated Behavioural Engagement Related to Instruction (BERI) tool. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. As there was no comparator group, findings should be interpretated as exploratory.

resultsOf the 109 students, 62 completed both pre- and post-session questionnaires (57%). A significant median increase of one point in self-reported confidence was observed (p < 0.001). Engagement was high, with minimal distraction events which were attributed solely to technical issues.

conclusionVR-based clinical communication training resulted in increased self-reported confidence and was well received. This modality shows promise as a scalable, engaging complement to traditional teaching methods in medical education.

Indexed as

CommunicationEducation, Medical, UndergraduateStudents, MedicalVirtual RealityAdultClinical CompetenceFemaleHumansMaleProspective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesDigital healthPedagogyStudent confidenceVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID41547744
PMCPMC12829288

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.