Integrating virtual patients into undergraduate health professions curricula: a framework synthesis of stakeholders' opinions based on a systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Virtual patients (VPs) are widely used in health professions education. When they are well integrated into curricula, they are considered to be more effective than loosely coupled add-ons. However, it is unclear what constitutes their successful integration. The aim of this study was to identify and synthesise the themes found in the literature that stakeholders perceive as important for successful implementation of VPs in curricula. METHODS: We searched five databases from 2000 to September 25, 2023. We included qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods and descriptive case studies that defined, identified, explored, or evaluated a set of factors that, in the perception of students, teachers, course directors and researchers, were crucial for VP implementation. We excluded effectiveness studies that did not consider implementation characteristics, and studies that focused on VP design factors. We included English-language full-text reports and excluded conference abstracts, short opinion papers and editorials. Synthesis of results was performed using the framework synthesis method with Kern's six-step model as the initial framework. We appraised the quality of the studies using the QuADS tool. RESULTS: Our search yielded a total of 4808 items, from which 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. We identified 14 themes that formed an integration framework. The themes were: goal in the curriculum; phase of the curriculum when to implement VPs; effective use of resources; VP alignment with curricular learning objectives; prioritisation of use; relation to other learning modalities; learning activities around VPs; time allocation; group setting; presence mode; VPs orientation for students and faculty; technical infrastructure; quality assurance, maintenance, and sustainability; assessment of VP learning outcomes and learning analytics. We investigated the occurrence of themes across studies to demonstrate the relevance of the framework. The quality of the studies did not influence the coverage of the themes. CONCLUSIONS: The resulting framework can be used to structure plans and discussions around implementation of VPs in curricula. It has already been used to organise the curriculum implementation guidelines of a European project. We expect it will direct further research to deepen our knowledge on individual integration themes.

Application of medical simulation in the education of medical students in the area of gynecology and obstetrics.

The education of new generations of doctors faces major challenges. The education system should ensure access to modern and effective educational techniques. Medical simulation is a method that is developing very dynamically. Currently, every medical university in Poland has access to the facilities of a Medical Simulation Centre. Many types of simulations can be used. The variety of techniques is considerable. Starting from simple trainers, through advanced patient simulators to hybrid simulation or virtual reality. Thanks to their use, it is possible to teach basic medical procedures in a safe way, without compromising the patient's intimacy. An additional advantage is the possibility to train in an interdisciplinary team. The aim of this work was to present the possibility of using medical simulation as a method of effective and interesting teaching of medical students in the field of gynaecology and obstetrics. The authors described different techniques and levels of simulation sophistication. The basic tasks of the teacher were also described. The paper may be an interesting complement to the knowledge of education for each physician involved in the work with students.