Immersive learning in medical education

Background: In the past, learning was acquired through direct experience.However, due to a changing world, such learning began to be acquired in increasingly abstract ways.Today, immersive technologies represent the opportunity to reconnect learning with experience through various innovative tools, which have had an impact on health education.Objective: To conduct a review to identify the most relevant benefits and limitations of immersive technologies in the field of health education, and to provide clear recommendations for their implementation in future academic programs.Material and methods: A comprehensive search of articles was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, and Epistemonikos databases.Nine relevant articles were identified and analyzed by the reviewers to determine similarities and differences among them.Results: Multiple articles highlight immersive technologies' benefits, such as: 40% improvement in the acquisition of surgical skills, improvements in the theoretical teaching of abstract topics, which benefit from the application of 3D technologies, as well as, a positive impact student motivation, confidence, self-satisfaction, in addition to improving the accessibility of education in underserved areas.Conclusions: Immersive technologies positively impact medical education.Their implementation faces multiple barriers, but formally introducing them into medical education programs represents the first step toward obtaining future benefits for patients.