Virtual Reality for Teaching Abscess Incision and Drainage to Medical Students

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.

Inclusion Criteria: * Second-year medical students at Quanzhou Medical College who were enrolled in the surgical-skills curriculum. * No prior systematic dedicated training in abscess incision and drainage. * Able to complete the teaching session, immediate OSCE assessment, theoretical knowledge test, and questionnaires. * Willing to participate and provided written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Prior dedicated training in abscess incision and drainage. * Refusal to participate. * Inability to complete the assigned teaching session or immediate assessment. * Inability to complete VR training or course assessment because of obvious dizziness, visual discomfort, movement disorder, or other reasons.