The Effect of Training Using the Combination of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in Coronary Artery Surgery on the Learning Rate of Undergraduate Students in the Operating Room

The complexity of surgical techniques and the limitations of the operating room environment for teaching students have led to the use of new methods to improve performance and reduce errors. The current study aimed to assess the effects of augmented reality- and virtual reality (VAR)-based education on learning among operating room (OR)students in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)surgery.

 This controlled randomized trial was conducted in 2020. Thirty-six OR students were purposefully employed and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 18) and control (n = 18) groups. Participants in the control group received routine training, while the intervention group received VAR training by watching a 360-degree VAR video of CABG surgery in addition to routine training. A researcher-made checklist was used to assess learning (performance). The level of performance was prepared as a researcher-made checklist based on the content of 360-degree video that students saw using virtual glasses (intervention group) and coronary artery bypass surgery in which the control group was routinely scrubbed, which showed students' learning in terms of scores. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, chi-square test.

The mean learning score in the intervention group was 25.56 with a standard deviation of 1.50 and in the control group was 20.76 with a standard deviation of 1.92. The independent t-test showed a significant difference in the intervention and control groups. The mean learning score in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group (P < 0.05).

The use of virtual reality along with augmented reality before surgery and scrubbing, increased learning in the functional area of ​​undergraduate operating room students.