Preparing for the lasting effects of COVID-19 on medical training: The design and pilot study of a low-fidelity virtual reality prototype for Central Venous Catheterization training

Abstract

Over the last several decades we have seen a shift from in-person to online training that has been exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers believe that many of these effects will be lasting which makes it even more important that the Human Factors community seek to step back and understand how to best train complex skills in a virtual world. The current paper is focused on understanding the utility of Virtual Reality (VR) in medical education for a hands-on procedural heavy procedure - ultrasound-guided Internal Jugular Central Venous Catheterization. Specifically, the objective of this study is to identify the potential utility of VR in US-IJCVC training through the design of a low-fidelity prototype and user interviews with three subject-matter experts. Results showed that the VR prototype designed is useful and provides a depth of knowledge and educational value which can be used to design innovative VR training approaches.