Effectiveness of virtual patients in teaching clinical decision‐making skills to dental students

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of virtual patient‐based training on the clinical decision‐making ability of dental students. Methods This quasi‐experimental study with pretest and posttest design was conducted on 76 (2015 admitted) dental students of Shiraz Dental School in 2018–2019. The study samples were randomly divided into 2 groups: intervention (web‐based virtual patient training = 36) and control (face‐to‐face case‐based training, n = 40). The data collection tools in this study included a questionnaire consisting of 2 sections: demographic information and procedural knowledge. The key‐feature test was used to measure procedural knowledge and problem‐solving ability in students. Content validity was confirmed by 7 faculty members. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS Statistics version 23.0. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the samples, Independent‐t test was used to compare the scores between the 2 groups, and repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess the effect of time on the training provided. P