Virtual patients are increasingly used in undergraduate psychiatry education. This article reports on a systematic review aimed at providing an overview of different approaches in this context, describing their effectiveness, and thematically comparing learning outcomes across different undergraduate programs. The authors searched PubMed, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Scopus databases for articles published between 2000 and January 2021. Quantitative and qualitative studies that reported on outcomes related to learners' knowledge, skills, and attitudes following an intervention with virtual patients in undergraduate psychiatry education were reviewed. Outcomes were thematically compared, and a narrative synthesis of the different outcomes and effectiveness was provided. Of 7856 records identified, 240 articles were retrieved for full-text review and 46 articles met all inclusion criteria. There were four broad types of virtual patient interventions: case-based presentation (n = 17), interactive virtual patient scenarios (n = 14), standardized virtual patients (n = 10), and virtual patient videogames (n = 5). The thematic analysis revealed that virtual patients in psychiatry education have been used for learners to construe knowledge about symptomatology and psychopathology, develop interpersonal and clinical communicative skills, and to increase self-efficacy and decrease stigmatizing attitudes towards psychiatric patients. In comparison with no intervention, traditional teaching, and text-based interventions, virtual patients were associated with higher learning outcomes. However, the results did not indicate any superiority of virtual patients over non-technological simulation. Virtual patients in psychiatry education offer opportunities for students from different health disciplines to build knowledge, practice skills, and improve their attitudes towards individuals with mental illness. The article discusses methodological shortcomings in the reviewed literature. Future interventions should consider the mediating effects of the quality of the learning environment, psychological safety, and level of authenticity of the simulation.

中文翻译：

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本科精神病学教育中的虚拟患者：系统回顾和综合。

虚拟患者越来越多地用于本科精神病学教育。本文报告了一项系统评价，旨在概述在此背景下的不同方法，描述它们的有效性，并按主题比较不同本科课程的学习成果。作者在 PubMed、PsycInfo、CINAHL 和 Scopus 数据库中搜索了 2000 年至 2021 年 1 月期间发表的文章。报告了在本科精神病学教育中对虚拟患者进行干预后与学习者的知识、技能和态度相关的结果的定量和定性研究是审查。结果按主题进行了比较，并提供了不同结果和有效性的综合叙述。在确定的 7856 条记录中，检索到 240 篇文章进行全文审查，其中 46 篇文章符合所有纳入标准。虚拟患者干预有四种主要类型：基于病例的演示 (n = 17)、交互式虚拟患者场景 (n = 14)、标准化虚拟患者 (n = 10) 和虚拟患者视频游戏 (n = 5)。主题分析显示，精神病学教育中的虚拟患者已被学习者用来解释症状学和精神病理学知识，培养人际交往和临床沟通技巧，并提高自我效能感和减少对精神病患者的污名化态度。与无干预、传统教学和基于文本的干预相比，虚拟患者与更高的学习成果相关。然而，结果并未表明虚拟患者优于非技术模拟。精神病学教育中的虚拟患者为来自不同健康学科的学生提供了建立知识、实践技能和改善他们对精神疾病患者态度的机会。本文讨论了所审查文献中方法论上的缺陷。未来的干预措施应考虑学习环境质量、心理安全和模拟真实性水平的中介效应。本文讨论了所审查文献中方法论上的缺陷。未来的干预措施应考虑学习环境质量、心理安全和模拟真实性水平的中介效应。本文讨论了所审查文献中方法论上的缺陷。未来的干预措施应考虑学习环境质量、心理安全和模拟真实性水平的中介效应。