Virtual patients blended with traditional education improve knowledge more than traditional education alone (pooled SMD=0.73)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2019 · checked against its sources 2026-10-18 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i2 Adding virtual patients as a supplement to traditional education yields moderate knowledge benefits over traditional education alone (SMD=0.73, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.22). → Kononowicz AA 2019
q3 i2 Adding virtual patients as a supplement to traditional education yields better knowledge outcomes than traditional education alone (SMD=0.73, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.22). → Kononowicz AA 2019
Evidence¶
Kononowicz AA 2019¶
Kononowicz AA, Woodham LA, Edelbring S, Stathakarou N, Davies D, Saxena N, Tudor Car L, Carlstedt-Duke J, Car J, Zary N. (2019). Virtual Patient Simulations in Health Professions Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration. Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.2196/14676
q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2
Random-effects meta-analysis of 5 studies comparing virtual patient blended learning with traditional education (Figure 3). The review reports "SMD=0.73, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.22, I2=81%, n=439"; in 4 of 5 studies the supplemented group scored better.
"The pooled effect for knowledge outcomes (SMD=0.73, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.22, I2=81%, n=439; Figure 3) suggests moderate effects preferring the mix of virtual patients with traditional education over traditional education alone."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Virtual patient blended learning shows a moderate but non-significant pooled skills effect versus traditional education alone (SMD=0.60, CI crossing zero) — related
- Virtual patients are as effective as traditional education for knowledge outcomes (pooled SMD=0.11) — related
- Virtual patients more effectively improve skills than traditional education (pooled SMD=0.90) — related
- In the few trials comparing them, virtual patients showed no significant knowledge differences versus other digital education, and skills differences in only one of three studies — related
- Virtual patients show larger advantages over passive traditional learning (lectures, reading) than over active learning — related
- Medical students using an interactive whiteboard with a structured argument template show deeper collaborative and regulatory discourse and better patient-management outcomes than students using traditional whiteboards — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
vp-blended-knowledge-advantage |
aliases |
vp-blended-knowledge-moderate-effect |
title |
Virtual patients blended with traditional education improve knowledge more than traditional education alone (pooled SMD=0.73) |
description |
Virtual patients blended with traditional education improve knowledge more than traditional education alone (pooled SMD=0.73) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2019 |
source_checked |
2026-10-18 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — kononowicz-aa-2019 |
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