Effects of early clinical exposure using virtual reality on learning: A text-mining analysis study.

Background: Educational technology's rapid evolution has resulted in an increase in the adoption of virtual reality (VR)-based educational modules in medical and nursing education.

Purpose: To develop and integrate a 360-degree video depiction of medical facilities into occupational therapy educational curriculum, and assess its impact on students' learning through a questionnaire survey and text-mining.

Method: Participants included 62 first-year occupational therapy majors from the 2022 and 2023 cohorts. The participants viewed a 360-degree video of three facilities (one psychiatric hospital and two general hospitals) in a class on their smartphones. They responded to self-administered questionnaires on the VR experience, including a free comment question that was subjected to text mining.

Findings: Early clinical exposure facilitated by VR benefited students. The ease of viewing images, enhanced understanding of the rehabilitation facilities' environment, and a significant boost in learning motivation after class were evident. The data revealed students' growing excitement for future 360-degree video-based classes and their high satisfaction with facility tours.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that early experiential learning using VR effectively motivates occupational therapy students and deepens their understanding of clinical environments.