VR-Live Hybrid Neurosurgery Clerkship:Boosting Neurosurgical Presence & Decisions

Sichuan University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Telemedicine; Virtual Reality

Treatments: Other: VR Simulation (15 hours)+Live-Streamed Neurosurgical Procedures (20 hours)+Live-Streamed Neurocritical Care Rounds (5 hours)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07304570

WestChinaH-HX-2025-03

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this randomized controlled trial was to learn whether a hybrid telemedicine curriculum that combines virtual-reality (VR) simulation with interactive live-streamed neurosurgical cases improves neurosurgical intentionality and clinical decision-making in fourth-year medical students whose clerkships were disrupted by COVID-19. It also assessed technical skills, theoretical knowledge, and student experience. The main questions it aimed to answer were:

Does the 4-week hybrid model (VR + live cases) produce greater gains in neurosurgical intentionality and decision-making than traditional online videos and readings? Does the hybrid model improve VR technical skill performance and student satisfaction without harming theoretical knowledge? Researchers randomized 112 students 1:1 to the hybrid intervention (15 h VR neuroanatomy/procedures + 20 h live-streamed surgeries/ICU rounds + real-time Q&A) or a time-matched control group (pre-recorded videos, textbook readings, asynchronous forums).

Participants in both groups:

Completed 40 hours of remote content over 4 weeks Were tested at baseline and post-course on intentionality (modified Zwisch scale), decision-making (neurosurgery-specific SCT), 50-item MCQ knowledge, and VR proficiency metrics Joined focus groups and rated satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale

Enrollment: 112 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Fourth-year medical students assigned to the neurosurgical clerkship rotation
2. Able to participate fully in remote learning (stable internet and VR-headset compatible computer)
3. Provided written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

1. Had already completed a prior neurosurgical elective
2. Lacked reliable internet access or hardware required for VR/live-streaming
3. Declined to consent or unable to complete the 4-week curriculum

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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112 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Treatment:

Other: VR Simulation (15 hours)+Live-Streamed Neurosurgical Procedures (20 hours)+Live-Streamed Neurocritical Care Rounds (5 hours)

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

* Pre-recorded neurosurgical videos (20 hours): Matched case types from the Neurosurgical Education and Training Resource (NETR) library, with voiceover but no interactivity. * Textbook/journal readings (15 hours): Chapters from Neurosurgery: The Essential Guide and articles from Journal of Neurosurgical Education (aligned with case content). * Asynchronous case discussions (5 hours): Text-based forums on the institution's LMS, moderated by faculty (48-hour response window).