ABSTRACT
Medical students participated in an immersive training session in which they observed a live demonstration of adult airway intubation in 3D using a virtual reality (VR) headset or 2D computer display, then performed airway intubation on a manikin. Students’ learning outcomes and subjective experiences from the VR training were compared to instruction via traditional computer-based videoconferencing. Twenty-six pre-clinical medical students participated and were assigned randomly to either the VR or computer group (13 in each). The course was conducted at a state-of-the-art medical simulation center affiliated with the University of South Florida, a large public university medical school in the USA. The medical simulation center partnered with a small technology company to develop the VR course to teach adult airway intubation to medical students. The purpose was to teach medical students the competencies of adult airway management and to investigate the efficacy of using novel VR streaming technology for distance medical education.
