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Enrolling by invitationNCT06030466Updated Dec 17, 2025

Medical Students' Acceptance and Learning Efficacy With Physical and Virtual Standardized Patients

An interventional study of With virtual standardized patients and With physical standardized patients in Education, Medical, sponsored by National Taiwan University Hospital. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in Taiwan. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-17.

Sponsored by National Taiwan University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will focus on exploring the experiential differences between virtual standardized patients and physical standardized patients, gathering feedback through questionnaires and brief interviews. Standardized patients have been widely used in medical education and physician licensing exams in Taiwan for over 15 years. With the rise of technology-enhanced medical education, it is necessary to reexamine the professional attributes and identification of standardized patients and explore the implementation of virtual standardized patient systems. The research aims to reshape the professional identity of standardized patients, identify necessary attributes and competencies, and establish a virtual standardized patient system to assess medical students' acceptance and learning outcomes.

Read the detailed description

This research project aims to investigate the differences in acceptance and learning efficacy between physical standardized patients and virtual standardized patients among medical students. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the physical standardized patient group or the virtual standardized patient group. They will experience scenarios with real standardized patients or screen-based virtual standardized patients, engaging in activities such as taking medical histories and explaining conditions. The study will collect questionnaire feedback on learning efficacy and acceptance.

The primary research questions include: Are there differences in medical students' perceptions of teaching scenarios involving virtual standardized patients versus physical standardized patients? Are there differences in medical students' self-efficacy growth after practicing teaching scenarios with virtual standardized patients versus real standardized patients? Secondary research questions include: What professional attributes and competencies should standardized patients possess? Does technological literacy influence medical students' acceptance of virtual standardized patients? How do virtual and physical standardized patient scenarios differ in terms of perceptions by standardized patients and learners?

This study will focus on exploring the experiential differences between virtual standardized patients and physical standardized patients, gathering feedback through questionnaires and brief interviews. Standardized patients have been widely used in medical education and physician licensing exams in Taiwan for over 15 years. With the rise of technology-enhanced medical education, it is necessary to reexamine the professional attributes and identification of standardized patients and explore the implementation of virtual standardized patient systems. The research aims to reshape the professional identity of standardized patients, identify necessary attributes and competencies, and establish a virtual standardized patient system to assess medical students' acceptance and learning outcomes.

02

Conditions studied

  • Education, Medical
03

In context

Lead sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,563 studies on the registry; 569 are open to participants now.

Of its 11 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 2 (18%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Medical students studying at the National Taiwan University School of Medicine
  2. Able to understand the research case and sign the written consent form

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Has used relevant virtual standardized patient software in the past (past exposure)
  2. Unable to adapt to technological applications or successfully use this virtual standardized patient system (unable to cooperate with research)
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Other
    With physical standardized patients

    Medical students practice consultation with physical standardized patients.

    Other: With physical standardized patients

  • Experimental
    With virtual standardized patients

    Medical students practice consultation with virtual standardized patients.

    Other: With virtual standardized patients

Interventions

  • OtherWith virtual standardized patients

    The virtual standardized patient is a software system that presents on a computer screen like a video conference, allowing medical students to interact with it for medical consultation. The virtual character modeling adopts 3D model, the expression of the character is delicate, and the voice feedback is clear. After the students' questions are asked by voice recognition and key words are extracted, appropriate responses are given.

  • OtherWith physical standardized patients

    The physical standardized patient is a real person who has received professional training courses in the department of medical education of National Taiwan University Hospital, and can help medical students practice consultations.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Perception differences between medical student using virtual standardized patients and physical standardized patients.

    Perception questionnaire including satisfaction and acceptability. The questionnaire will use a 5-Point Likert Scale to assess the acceptance and satisfaction levels of physical standardized patients in comparison to virtual standardized patients among medical students. Here are some sample questions: S1: I am satisfied with how the "Virtual Standardized Patient System" operates. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree S2: I am satisfied with the interactive process of medical history inquiries within the "Virtual Standardized Patient System." 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree S3: I am satisfied with the interactive process of medical condition explanations within the "Virtual Standardized Patient System." 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. Learning efficacy difference between medical student using virtual standardized patients and physical standardized patients.

    The questionnaire will employ a 5-Point Likert Scale to investigate the learning effectiveness of medical students when comparing physical and virtual standardized patients. Below are some sample questions: PU2: I believe that the "Virtual Standardized Patient System" can be expected to enhance clinical learning. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree PU3: I am of the opinion that the "Virtual Standardized Patient System" will facilitate clinical learning. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree EE4: I find learning to use the "Virtual Standardized Patient System" to be a challenging skill to master. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree

    Time frame: 1 year

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital
    Taipei, Taiwan
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 17, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06030466
Lead sponsor
National Taiwan University Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 11, 2023
Start date
Jan 1, 2024
Primary completion
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Dec 17, 2025

Study contacts

Cheng-Heng Liu, MD
principal investigator · National Taiwan University Hospital

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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