Virtual simulations for health education: how are user skills assessed?

Abstract

Introduction: A virtual simulator, or one based on virtual reality, can computationally recreate real contexts. Objective: To analyze works on virtual simulations for training clinical procedures, focusing on the assessment of user skills. Method: Integrative literature review, carried out between 2010 and 2020. A total of 56 studies were selected 56 studies. Results: The selected studies showed that the variables and parameters of virtual simulators are usually obtained by consulting experts or through medical literature. These simulators mainly focus on developing psychomotor skills and assessing the learner’s performance through real-time alerts, progress indicators, and performance reports after the end of each training. Conclusion: Considering the expert’s knowledge exclusively to define the requirements of virtual simulators can limit their reliability and accuracy. The participation of experts in these projects does not follow standards regarding the selection and frequency with which they collaborate. Few simulators provide insightful and pertinent feedback on user performance.