150 - No Lab? No Problem. Exploring Virtual Reality to Aid in Student Preparation for Objective Structured Practical Examinations

Poster Board Number: 150
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Introduction:
Objective structured practical examinations (OSPEs, also known as “bell-ringers,” “spot tests,” or “practical examinations”) are a standard method for evaluating anatomical knowledge. Administration of these examinations involves a student having to identify and answer questions pertaining to pinned structures on cadaveric specimens. Despite the prevalence of OSPEs in anatomy education, virtual resources to help students prepare for these assessments are uncommon. Traditionally, to prepare for these examinations, students study from physical specimens found in anatomy laboratories. However, at many institutions, these facilities are not readily accessible, forcing students to rely on 2-D images of specimens found online or in course curricula as a supplement. Studying from a 2-D image is often much more difficult for students than using a physical specimen due to the fixed view and loss of depth from the image.

Objective:
This project seeks to create a study tool to address limitations to cadaveric specimen access by using virtual reality (VR) technology to re-create the experience of studying from a physical specimen. The current study seeks to create and assess the impact of a VR OSPE tool in improving student learning outcomes.

Method:
To simulate an OSPE, this tool will present students with virtual 3-D specimens and prompt them to answer three questions pertaining to pins placed on the specimen in VR. To create a natural typing experience, this application will run on a Meta Quest 2 headset, leveraging Meta’s Oculus Integration asset for Unity to project 3-D models of a user’s hands and keyboard in real-time to allow for the input of answers to the OSPE questions. The user will also be able to use the keyboard inputs to manipulate the specimen with zoom and rotation in VR space. Prior to assessing the VR OSPE tool’s effectiveness on student learning, a qualitative analysis describing users’ experience with the tool is required. A group of current anatomy students will be selected to test and give feedback on the tool. The qualitative analysis will help determine students’ experience in interacting with the VR OSPE tool.

After receiving user feedback on the tool and implementing improvements, the effectiveness of the use of the VR tool for student learning of anatomical knowledge as compared to learning from equivalent 2-D images will be quantitatively assessed.

Results:
Qualitative feedback regarding the VR OSPE tool will be used to inform the improvements and future development in preparation to assess the effectiveness of the tool compared to traditional (2-D) modes of tools used for student learning in anatomy.

Conclusion:
The VR OSPE tool will allow for increased accessibility of studying from cadaveric specimens without access to physical laboratory spaces. Authors hope to demonstrate VR’s capacity to successfully replicate salient aspects of a physical OSPE environment to improve learning outcomes and user experiences.