A VR Experience Exposing the Hidden Curriculum of the Operating Room: A Case Study

Introduction The rise of immersive technologies, particularly virtual reality (VR), has significantly impacted medical education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students faced a dearth of exposure to the clinical environment, notably the operating room (OR), which impeded their learning. Vital habits acquired through physical presence and implicit learning were notably lacking. This paper delineates the development of a dual VR experience, offering insights into the unspoken norms and hidden curriculum of the OR from a first-person perspective. Methods Our set-up encompassed a development process, incorporating considerations of user experience, technical implementation, content creation, and validation. Content creation involved the collaborative delineation of how medical students navigate their initiation into the OR, engaging stakeholders through storyboards and scripts. Results Our dual VR experiences elucidated the collaborative crafting of the typical initiation journey during the initial days in the OR. The script and storyboard were initially conceptualized by the principal researcher following an in-depth study of landmark articles on the hidden curriculum and field observations. Validation ensued through group discussions with an expert panel comprising medical students, OR assistants, surgeons, anaesthesiologists, and educators. Conclusions and Practice Implications The findings and insights presented herein contribute to the growing knowledge domain of educational VR development. They underscore the feasibility and potential of harnessing immersive technologies to cultivate engaging and impactful virtual experiences, highlighting its potential positive influence on medical students’ preparedness for clinical settings. Future validation may assess their potential positive influence on the lived experiences of medical students and ascertain whether these VR experiences foster beneficial effects on their subsequent medical careers.