Simulation in Medicine: A Boone or a Bane?

Abstract

Living through the pandemic years has enlarged our perspective on significance of technology and technologically driven services such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and the rest of the Internet of Things (IoT). Advances in AI and its employment in healthcare especially in the form of simulation technology, has made revolutionary changes in rendering effective medical training with many educational institutions modifying their conventional approaches in order to impart better clinical knowledge and practice to students in their pre-clinical years. The purpose of this study was to gain an insight into the student's viewpoints and preferences with respect to simulation technology over real-time clinical training. An online survey was conducted in February 2023 and data on perception towards simulation technology was collected using a self-administered questionnaire with responses in a 5-point Likert’s scale. A reliability test was performed between the items of various variables using the SPSS program version 29.0.0.0 A poll from 200 participants was received and evaluated, and it demonstrated a favorable attitude towards the use of simulation in medical training, particularly in terms of practicing clinical skills, gaining confidence, and learning comfort. The effectiveness of this technology in dealing with infectious, urgent, or atypical patients however, remains unclear and disputed. Although simulation technology is seen as a beneficial supplementary aid for medical training, its advantages over traditional training remain debatable due to the limitations posed by it; thereby, emphasizing the importance of a multimodal approach in training.