Comparison of virtual patient simulation with Mannequin-based simulation for improving clinical performances in assessing and managing clinical deterioration: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Virtual patient simulation has grown substantially in health care education. A virtual patient simulation was developed as a refresher training course to reinforce nursing clinical performance in assessing and managing deteriorating patients. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the development of the virtual patient simulation and evaluate its efficacy, by comparing with a conventional mannequin-based simulation, for improving the nursing students' performances in assessing and managing patients with clinical deterioration. Methods: A randomized controlled study was conducted with 57 third-year nursing students who were recruited through email. After a baseline evaluation of all participants' clinical performance in a simulated environment, the experimental group received a 2-hour fully automated virtual patient simulation while the control group received 2-hour facilitator-led mannequin-based simulation training. All participants were then re-tested one day (first posttest) and 2.5 months (second posttest) after the intervention. The participants from the experimental group completed a survey to evaluate their learning experiences with the newly developed virtual patient simulation. Results: Compared to their baseline scores, both experimental and control groups demonstrated significant improvements (P