Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb;9(3):252.
doi: 10.21037/atm-20-2785.

The comparison of teaching efficiency between virtual reality and traditional education in medical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Guanjie Zhao  1 , Minjie Fan  2 , Yibiao Yuan  3 , Fei Zhao  4 , Huaxing Huang  1
Affiliations

The comparison of teaching efficiency between virtual reality and traditional education in medical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Guanjie Zhao et al. Ann Transl Med. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology has developed rapidly in recent years and has been applied in many fields, including medical education. A meta-analysis was performed to compare the examination pass rate of medical students educated using VR and those receiving traditional education to evaluate the teaching effect of VR in medical education.

Methods: The PubMed, Springer Link, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library were searched from inception to May 2020. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were then evaluated, relevant information extracted and a meta-analysis conducted. Students were allocated to a VR group, those trained using VR technology, and a traditional education group, those who received a traditional medical education.

Results: Six studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicate a significant difference between the pass rate of students educated using VR and those receiving traditional medical education. The odds ratios and confidence intervals of individual studies and our meta-analysis are illustrated with a forest plot.

Conclusions: Students in the VR group performed better than those in the traditional education group. Teaching with VR may enhance student learning in medical education. Medical schools should consider making greater use of VR when educating students.

Keywords: Virtual reality (VR); medical education; meta-analysis; traditional education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-2785). All the authors report grants from the Government of Jiangsu Province, China, and from Nanjing Medical University during the study. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An illustration showing how the studies included in this meta-analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the pass rate of the VR group versus the traditional education group. OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; VR, virtual reality.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot of the pass rate of the VR group versus the traditional education group according to different countries. OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; VR, virtual reality.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of the pass rate of the VR group versus the traditional education group according to different professions. OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; VR, virtual reality.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot of the pass rate of the VR group versus the traditional education group according to sample size. OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; VR, virtual reality.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kamei RK, Cook S, Puthucheary J, et al. 21st Century Learning in Medicine: Traditional Teaching versus Team-based Learning. Med Sci Educ 2014;22:57-64. 10.1007/BF03341758 - DOI
    1. Izard SG, Juanes JA, Garcia Penalvo FJ, et al. Virtual Reality as an Educational and Training Tool for Medicine. J Med Syst 2018;42:50. 10.1007/s10916-018-0900-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kyaw BM, Saxena N, Posadzki P, et al. Virtual Reality for Health Professions Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration. J Med Internet Res 2019;21:e12959. 10.2196/12959 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li Y, Huang J, Tian F, et al. Gesture interaction in virtual reality. Virtual Reality & Intelligent Hardware 2019;1:84-112. 10.3724/SP.J.2096-5796.2018.0006 - DOI
    1. Loureiro SMC, Sarmento EM, do Rosário JF. Managerial Challenges and Social Impacts of Virtual and Augmented Reality: IGI Global; 2020 [updated 2020. Available from: Available online: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/incorporating-vr-ar-and-related-techn...

LinkOut - more resources