Technological gap in clinical training: analysis of medical school curricula in Panama on the integration of virtual and augmented reality and proposal of the Integra-VR model

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the degree of integration of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the curricula of medical schools nationwide, in order to identify the existing technological gap and propose a framework for the progressive integration of these technologies. Through a comparative documentary analysis of the official curricula of public, regional, and private universities, an analysis matrix structured into five categories was applied: curriculum structure, clinical simulation, technology in training, graduate profile, and overall evaluation. The results reveal that none of the six institutions explicitly mention VR and AR in their curricula, and the technological integration scores range from 2 to 5 out of a maximum of 9 points, with a national average of 3.8, demonstrating a medium to high technological gap throughout the Panamanian medical education system. Based on these findings, the INTEGRA-VR Model is proposed, a four-phase framework for diagnosis, training, implementation, and evaluation, designed to guide the progressive and sustainable integration of these technologies in resource-limited contexts. Therefore, it is concluded that Panamanian medical training faces a significant lag in the incorporation of virtual simulation technologies, and that the adoption of the INTEGRA-VR model can constitute a viable roadmap for systematically and pedagogically soundly overcoming this gap.