VR goggles could help med students stop getting lost in hospitals
NCT ID NCT05894005
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether immersive 360-degree virtual reality videos help medical students navigate a hospital better than standard 2D videos. Forty-four medical students will watch either a VR or 2D video showing a route, then walk it while researchers measure time, wrong turns, and confusion. If it works, VR could reduce student anxiety and improve orientation in unfamiliar settings.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Immersive 360-degree virtual reality video
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a better way to teach medical students how to navigate new hospital environments, reducing anxiety and lateness.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 44 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The benefit over simple maps or written directions is not yet proven.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 44 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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Children (under 18), adults (18 to 64) and older adults (65 and over)
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Pre-clerkship (year 1 and 2) medical students from the University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Exclusion Criteria: * Experience visiting Sunnybrook for personal reasons or previous coursework, shadowing, research, or clinical rotations. Having a familiarity with the floor plan of the hospital.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
RECRUITINGToronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada
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