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Advancing virtual patient simulations through design research and interPLAY: part I: design and development

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Abstract

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled studies conclude that virtual patient simulations are consistently associated with higher learning outcomes compared to other educational methods. However, we cannot assume that students will learn from simply exposing students to the simulations. The instructional features that are integrated before, during and after the simulations may affect learning and performance as much as or more than the simulation and how those features are used. Here, we examine the design and development of NERVE: A virtual patient simulation created to give medical students standardized experiences in interviewing, examining, and diagnosing virtual patients with cranial nerve disorders. We depict key design features of the simulation and discuss how two sets of design research studies were completed to improve the total learning experience, including the virtual patient simulations and the instructional features incorporated with the simulations.

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Acknowledgments

Research reported in this paper was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number 1R01LM010813-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instructional Design & Technology Program, Department of Education and Human Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Atsusi Hirumi

  2. College of Engineering and Information Technology, UMBC, Baltimore, USA

    Andrea Kleinsmith & Kenneth Bogert

  3. College of Engineering, University of Georgia-Athens, Athens, USA

    Kyle Johnsen

  4. College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

    Stacey Kubovec & Juan Cendan

  5. Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

    Michael Eakins

  6. College of Engineering, University of Florida, Orlando, USA

    Diego J. Rivera-Gutierrez & Benjamin Lok

  7. College of Education & Human Performance, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

    Ramsamooj Javier Reyes

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  1. Atsusi Hirumi
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  2. Andrea Kleinsmith
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  3. Kyle Johnsen
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  4. Stacey Kubovec
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  5. Michael Eakins
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  6. Kenneth Bogert
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  7. Diego J. Rivera-Gutierrez
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  8. Ramsamooj Javier Reyes
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  9. Benjamin Lok
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  10. Juan Cendan
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Correspondence to Atsusi Hirumi.

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Hirumi, A., Kleinsmith, A., Johnsen, K. et al. Advancing virtual patient simulations through design research and interPLAY: part I: design and development. Education Tech Research Dev 64, 763–785 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9429-6

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