An interventional study of VR-Assisted Abscess Incision and Drainage Teaching and Conventional Abscess Incision and Drainage Teaching in Medical Education, sponsored by Quanzhou Medical College. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-10.
Sponsored by Quanzhou Medical College · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
This completed randomized educational trial evaluated whether virtual reality (VR)-assisted teaching improves medical students' performance in abscess incision and drainage compared with conventional teaching. A total of 120 second-year medical students were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either VR-assisted teaching or conventional teaching. Both groups received 120 minutes of instruction covering the same core learning objectives. The primary outcome was the immediate post-intervention objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) skills score for abscess incision and drainage. Secondary outcomes included theoretical knowledge, learning interest, and course satisfaction.
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants received a 120-minute teaching session including a 10-minute orientation, 20-minute faculty demonstration, 30-minute virtual reality training, 40-minute physical hands-on practice, and 20-minute debriefing and feedback.
Behavioral: VR-Assisted Abscess Incision and Drainage Teaching
Participants received a 120-minute conventional teaching session including a 10-minute orientation, 20-minute faculty demonstration, 30-minute structured instructor-guided procedural review, 40-minute physical hands-on practice, and 20-minute debriefing and feedback.
Behavioral: Conventional Abscess Incision and Drainage Teaching
Participants received a 120-minute teaching session consisting of a 10-minute orientation, 20-minute faculty demonstration, 30-minute virtual reality training, 40-minute physical hands-on practice using an abscess incision teaching model, and 20-minute debriefing and feedback. The VR component used immersive three-dimensional visualization, stepwise task guidance, and error prompts to teach the procedural sequence of abscess incision and drainage.
Participants received a 120-minute conventional teaching session consisting of a 10-minute orientation, 20-minute faculty demonstration, 30-minute structured instructor-guided procedural review, 40-minute physical hands-on practice using an abscess incision teaching model, and 20-minute debriefing and feedback.
Immediate Post-Intervention OSCE Skills Score
Abscess incision and drainage procedural performance was assessed using a 100-point objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) checklist. Each participant was independently assessed by two examiners who were not informed of group allocation. The final OSCE score was calculated as the mean of the two examiner ratings. Scores ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better simulated procedural performance.
Time frame: Immediately after completion of the 120-minute teaching intervention
Theoretical Knowledge Posttest Score
Theoretical knowledge of abscess incision and drainage was assessed using a 20-item single-best-answer multiple-choice test developed according to the course learning objectives. Each correct answer was awarded 5 points, and incorrect, multiple, or unanswered items received 0 points. Total scores ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater theoretical knowledge.
Time frame: Immediately after completion of the 120-minute teaching intervention
Learning Interest Posttest Score
Learning interest was assessed using a 10-item Likert scale. Each item was rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The total score ranged from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater interest in learning procedural skills.
Time frame: Immediately after completion of the 120-minute teaching intervention
Course Satisfaction Total Score
Course satisfaction was assessed using a 10-item Likert scale. Each item was rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The total score ranged from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater course satisfaction.
Time frame: Immediately after completion of the teaching intervention and assessment
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data supporting the reported primary and secondary outcomes may be made available upon reasonable request, subject to approval by the Medical Ethics Committee of Quanzhou Medical College and the institutional data custodian. Public unrestricted release of participant-level educational assessment data is not permitted because of ethics, consent, and institutional data-governance requirements.
Supporting information: Analytic code
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