THE ROLE OF VIRTUAL SIMULATION AND ONLINE LEARNING IN ADVANCING MEDICAL EDUCATION AMONG THE YOUTH POPULATION OF PAKISTAN

Main Article Content

Dr. Saelah Amin
Dr. Naheed Akhtar
Dr. Hareem
Dr. Nadeem Akhtar Korai
Dr. Muhammad Aitmaud Uddolah Khan
Dr. Shazia Azhar

Keywords

Medical Education, Online Learning, Virtual Simulation, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The pandemic has brought to light the students' need for online learning and virtual simulations.


Objective: To evaluate the role of Virtual Simulation and Online Learning in Advancing Medical Education in Pakistan


Methods: Almost 90 medical students were enrolled at one of Pakistan's private medical universities. The students were placed in two groups. Group A had only those students who took traditional learning, and Group B had students who took both online education and virtual simulation. The independent-sample t-test was used to compare the outcomes of the two groups.


Results: Out of 90 students, 28 (31%) were male students and 62 (68%) were female students. Almost 31 (34%) students were from pre-clinical years, and 59 (65%) students participated from clinical years. Nearly 12 (13%) of the students had basic knowledge, 16 (17%) had general knowledge, and 62 (68%) had professional knowledge regarding computer skills. Further, the results revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.721)


Conclusion: The study's results indicate that the integrated learning strategy, which combines virtual simulation and online learning, will help students grasp the theoretical and practical components of advanced medical education.

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