Virtual Mrs K: The learners and #8217; expectations and attitudes towards a virtual patient system in transcultural psychiatry

Abstract

Objective: Extreme trauma exposure is common among refugees and is associated with severe mental and public health illnesses. Current medical curricula often provide limited training in the management of this patient group about assessment and follow-up. This study was aimed to evaluate the users’ opinions on a dedicated virtual patient (VP) system for refugee trauma cases that were developed as a tool to enhance clinical, interpersonal and intercultural competence and examine learners’ expectations and attitudes regarding the system and their acceptance of it. Methods: The authors developed an innovative educational tool based on VP methodology portraying a traumatized refugee patient, mediated by video sequences as a learning platform to train medical students in the clinical management of this patient group. The tool was tested by group (N = 32) of resident psychiatrists and studied using a mixed methodology, including self-reported data about expected and experienced attitudes, emotional attachment towards the patient and insights and feedback about the system. Results: The participants responded in a positive way towards this new educational system, ranking high in terms of experienced realism (median value 4 on a 5-point scale), engagement (median value 4.5 on a 5-point scale), concentration (median value 5 on a 5-point scale), and in terms of its ability to provoke emotional attachment toward the VP. The feedback module was considered a very important learning element. Conclusions: This VP system demonstrated high acceptance among participants and good potential as a training tool for the clinical management of refugee patients.