Development of a Virtual Reality Training Tool Promoted at Skill Acquisition in Preparatory Clinical Education for Pharmacy Students and Verification of Its Educational Effectiveness: Preparation of Liquid Medications

Abstract

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) technology has garnered attention as an educational tool. It is believed to be beneficial to utilize VR technology for the acquisition of pharmacist skills. Therefore, we developed a VR training tool aimed at acquiring skills in the preparation of pharmaceuticals in preparatory clinical education for pharmacy students. Additionally, we evaluated the effectiveness of the VR training tool by having beginners learn about the preparation of liquid medications through VR materials or existing texts (Tx) and assessing their learning outcomes in subsequent practical exams. The study included 12 participants in the VR group and 10 in the Tx group. For the items "smoothly and rhythmically performing a series of actions or operations," "aligning the meniscus with eye level during scale confirmation," "marking lines on the dispensing bottle," and "placing lines at the appropriate scale on the dispensing bottle," students in the VR group were significantly more capable in practical application. The time required to prepare the liquid medication was significantly shorter for students in the VR group, with over half of the Tx group students exceeding 10 min and terminating the task. According to the survey results, many students cited VR as a method for acquiring dispensing skills. Based on these results, our developed VR training tool for liquid formulation showed usefulness in teaching practical skills to beginners.