Student Santa Catalina School Salinas, California, United States
Disclosure(s):
Juliana Herrera: No financial relationships to disclose
Abstract: Traditional training methods fail to meet the needs of today’s generation of students, hindering the rapid workforce development needed to address the nationwide shortage of healthcare employees. This study evaluates a gamified virtual reality (VR) training system designed to improve instrument knowledge, anticipation and correct passing, skills necessary for the proper training of surgical assistants. Developed in Unity for Meta Quest 3, the VR system features hand-tracking interactions, realistic 3D models (Blender), and gamification elements including adaptive difficulty, real-time feedback, and progress tracking. Twenty-eight participants aged 18–29, with no prior dental experience were randomly assigned to two groups: The VR group (n = 14) trained using the VR app with the Meta Quest3 Oculus and the direct group trained via hands-on instruction by an experienced dental assistant using flashcards and a training manual. Both groups completed a pre-test assessment to establish baseline knowledge and a post-test to evaluate skill acquisition and precision rate.
The results of this study demonstrated that the gamified VR modules provide an effective, consistent and repeatable training experience. The participants in the VR group achieved a significantly higher mean precision rate with less score variability compared to the direct training group. Similarly, VR training led to significantly greater improvements in skill acquisition than traditional training (11.77 vs 6.98). While both VR and traditional training yield significant learning gains, VR training demonstrated a significantly stronger effect. In summary, this study demonstrates that SVGICAL provides a scalable, standardized and immersive learning experience, allowing assistants to develop essential skills faster and with greater confidence.
