Medical Students' Acceptance and Learning Efficacy With Physical and Virtual Standardized Patients

A Comparative Study of Medical Students' Acceptance and Learning Efficacy With Physical and Virtual Standardized Patients

This study will focus on exploring the experiential differences between virtual standardized patients and physical standardized patients, gathering feedback through questionnaires and brief interviews. Standardized patients have been widely used in medical education and physician licensing exams in Taiwan for over 15 years. With the rise of technology-enhanced medical education, it is necessary to reexamine the professional attributes and identification of standardized patients and explore the implementation of virtual standardized patient systems. The research aims to reshape the professional identity of standardized patients, identify necessary attributes and competencies, and establish a virtual standardized patient system to assess medical students' acceptance and learning outcomes.

This research project aims to investigate the differences in acceptance and learning efficacy between physical standardized patients and virtual standardized patients among medical students. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the physical standardized patient group or the virtual standardized patient group. They will experience scenarios with real standardized patients or screen-based virtual standardized patients, engaging in activities such as taking medical histories and explaining conditions. The study will collect questionnaire feedback on learning efficacy and acceptance.

The primary research questions include: Are there differences in medical students' perceptions of teaching scenarios involving virtual standardized patients versus physical standardized patients? Are there differences in medical students' self-efficacy growth after practicing teaching scenarios with virtual standardized patients versus real standardized patients? Secondary research questions include: What professional attributes and competencies should standardized patients possess? Does technological literacy influence medical students' acceptance of virtual standardized patients? How do virtual and physical standardized patient scenarios differ in terms of perceptions by standardized patients and learners?

This study will focus on exploring the experiential differences between virtual standardized patients and physical standardized patients, gathering feedback through questionnaires and brief interviews. Standardized patients have been widely used in medical education and physician licensing exams in Taiwan for over 15 years. With the rise of technology-enhanced medical education, it is necessary to reexamine the professional attributes and identification of standardized patients and explore the implementation of virtual standardized patient systems. The research aims to reshape the professional identity of standardized patients, identify necessary attributes and competencies, and establish a virtual standardized patient system to assess medical students' acceptance and learning outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Medical students studying at the National Taiwan University School of Medicine
2. Able to understand the research case and sign the written consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Has used relevant virtual standardized patient software in the past (past exposure)
2. Unable to adapt to technological applications or successfully use this virtual standardized patient system (unable to cooperate with research)