Metaverse-powered basic sciences medical education: bridging the gaps for lower middle-income countries.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Traditional medical education often lacks contextual experience, hindering students' ability to effectively apply theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios. The integration of the metaverse into medical education holds great enormous promise for addressing educational disparities, particularly in lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) accompanied by rapid technological advancements. This commentary paper aimed to address the potential of the metaverse in enhancing basic sciences education within the constraints faced by universities in LMICs. We also addressed learning design challenges by proposing fundamental design elements and a suggested conceptual framework for developing metaverse-based teaching methods.The goal is to assist educators and medical practitioners in comprehensivley understanding key factors in immersive teaching and learning. DISCUSSION: By immersing medical students in virtual scenarios mimicking real medical settings and patient interactions, the metaverse enables practice in clinical decision-making, interpersonal skills, and exposure to complex medical situations in a controlled environment. These simulations can be customized to reflect local healthcare challenges, preparing medical students to tackle specific community needs. Various disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, dentistry, and pathology, have begun leveraging the metaverse to offer immersive learning experiences, foster interdisciplinary collaborations, and facilitate authentic assessments. However, financial constraints pose a significant barrier to widespread adoption, particularly in resource-limited settings like LMICs. Addressing these challenges is crucial to realizing the full potential of metaverse technology in medical education. CONCLUSION: The metaverse offers a promising solution for enhancing medical education by providing immersive, context-rich learning experiences. This paper proposes a conceptual framework and fundamental design elements to aid faculty educators and medical practitioners in effectively incorporating metaverse technology into their teaching methods, thus improving educational outcomes in LMICs.

The metaverse offers a transformative pathway for basic sciences medical education in lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) through leveraging 3D human replicas, virtual dissection, laboratories, and simulations.A metaverse-based learning design may easily combine a variety of learning theories, instructional design models, and/or conceptual frameworks, including constructivism, the ADDIE model, universal design, and minimalism.Unlocking the full potential of VR and AR in basic sciences medical education for LMIC universities requires collaborative synergy among educators, policymakers, and technology developers, with a crucial emphasis on equitable access and resource allocation.Despite the immense promise held by metaverse-powered education, it is crucial to address issues surrounding technology accessibility, learning design challenges, and implementation barriers in LMICs as we provide guidance to educators and practitioners worldwide.