A team of researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (FMCB) of the University of Algarve, which includes Ana Marreiros, Alexandra Binnie, André Mestre and Hugo Café, has just released a scientific article in the scientific journal BMC Medical Education where the impact of virtual patient simulators on the learning process of medical and nursing students is evaluated, through the collection of their perceptions.
Against the backdrop of the rapid changes in the medical education landscape around the world, accelerated by the emergence of COVID-19, the researchers reflect, in this article, on the role of virtual patient simulators (VPS) in the learning process, concluding that students who used this tool reported a significant improvement in curricular integration and in their individual learning process.
Virtual Patient Simulators provide a simulated clinical environment in which students can interview and examine a patient, order tests and exams, prioritize interventions, and observe the response to therapy, all with minimal risk to themselves and their patients.
Unlike other simulator typologies, VPS requires limited investment in infrastructure and can be used with few resources.
Developed from November 2019 to July 2020, this study integrated 617 nursing and medical students from 11 institutions in 8 countries (Portugal, Poland, Morocco, Norway, Honduras, Georgia, Canada and China), revealing, overall, a very positive impact.
After the virtual patient simulator session in small groups, the students demonstrated significant improvements in 5/6 items related to the individual learning process and in 7/7 of the items related to curriculum integration.
This research can, therefore, in the future, contribute to the adaptation and modernization of the curricula of nursing and medical students, prioritizing the impact of this type of tools in the teaching process carried out in the faculties of medicine and nursing.
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