Page 59 - Read Online

Lee et al. Plast Aesthet Res 2022;9:46 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2022.11 Page 7 of 9

that the VPNA will greatly improve overall course exam scores as well as provide a more enjoyable learning
experience.

Within the Neurology core, half of the rotating students will be granted, randomly, access to the VPNA. At
the end of the core, all students will take the standard National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
Neurology core exam. Scores will be compared between the VPNA and standard education students. We
hypothesize that students who can study with the VPNA will achieve higher scores on their NBME exams.
Although not intended to be studied during the pilot course, it is our hope that repeated exposure to the
VPNA during the pre-clerkship curriculum and neurology clerkship will lead to better retention of
knowledge on the peripheral nervous system.

Upon conclusion of these pilot studies, we aim to have the support to permanently implement the VPNA at
the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and to expand to other medical schools.

CONCLUSION
The Virtual Peripheral Nerve Academy aims to provide an immersive platform for medical students to learn
about the peripheral nervous system and gain competency in treating real-life nerve pathologies. This
training can be easily integrated into existing medical school curricula. By increasing medical students’
knowledge of how to identify and treat peripheral nerve disorders at both pre-clerkship and clerkship levels,
we hope to create a lasting familiarity with the peripheral nervous system regardless of their residency
choice. In doing so, we hope to reduce barriers in access to care for patients with peripheral nerve injuries
by increasing the number of healthcare professionals versed in their care. The Virtual Peripheral Nerve
Academy began pilot evaluation in March 2022, and data collection will continue through December 2022.
Following pilot completion and iterative refinement, it will be released with all components to the public in
July 2023.

DECLARATIONS
Acknowledgments
We thank the BioDigital team for their collaboration on this project.

Authors’ contributions
Made substantial contributions to conception and design of the Virtual Peripheral Nerve Academy: Lee EB,
Podsednik A, Khoo K, Cheema A, Cabrejo R, Shen C, Rosen J, Dellon AL
Designed and established pilot program: Lee EB, Dellon AL

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.