Chief Investigator - Rachel Starkings
Chief Investigator - Dr Valerie Shilling
Funder: Royal Society of Medicine
Virtual reality (VR) is widely used in medical education, particularly to explore anatomy and surgical techniques. There is increasing interest in using this form of intervention for communication skills training.
This project assessed the feasibility and acceptability of using a VR training module exploring how clinicians navigate angry conversation. The findings from this exploratory study may help us develop further research and implementation.
Twenty medical students took part and completed the module either using a VR headset or the same module content using a desktop application.
All particants completed a set of questionnaires pre and post intervention which assess participant confidence, and self-belief in their communication skills, along with their use and acceptance of technology, to see how this relates to their experience of the module.
Students' confidence increased across all measures. Participants were accepting of virtual learning and felt it provided them with tangible skills and psychological safety to practice. Initial concerns that it might not be realistic were largely reversed after the intervention. Students preferred a combination of virtual learning and face-to-face practice for added realism. You can read the article here https://rdcu.be/d8jvO.
Current Stage:
Analysis and Write Up
Publication
Feasibility and acceptability of a virtual learning module for navigating angry conversations in clinical encounters https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-06726-6