Aim:？This research assesses the effect of a virtual patient simulation platform CyberPatient (CP) compared to a high-fidelity physical simulator SimJunior？(SJ) and traditional bedside training (TBT) on knowledge retention and competencies in a health education environment. Material: A total of 143 fifth-year medical students were randomly assigned to three groups: TBT-Group (n = 55) received traditional education; CP-Group (n = 44) was trained with a virtual patient platform CyberPatient; and SJ-Group (n = 44) was trained using a high-fidelity simulator SimJunior. Educational content for all groups？included competencies on pediatric asthma. Methods: Students’ level of knowledge acquisition was measured with a multiple-choice question test (MCQ) administered before the application of educational methods (Assessment I), immediately after completion of pediatric asthma training (Assessment II), and knowledge retention was measured two months later the completion of training (Assessment III). At the end of the study, student satisfaction was also measured by a survey questionnaire containing 5 questions rated on a Likert scale. Results: Assessment of acquired knowledge immediately after completion of pediatric asthma training revealed a significant difference between TBT-Group and SJ-Group (p < 0.05) only. However, the knowledge retention score was significantly (p < 0.05) higher for the CP-Group (91.89 ± 17.67) and SJ-Group (90.14 ± 19.48) in comparison to TBT-Group with traditional education (82.63 ± 26.22). Conclusions: Virtual training with CyberPatient and high-fidelity physical simulation had a significant (p < 0.05) positive impact on memory retention compared to traditional clinical teaching. The possible mechanisms behind this positive impact include hands-on, active engagement, multi-sensory experience, spaced repetition, transfer of learning, and motivation. The inclusion of virtual simulation in the medical curriculum can improve the training of clinical competencies.
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