The project objectives are focused on mapping clinical reasoning skills teaching, pain management and clinical placement with a view to provide a structured support for linking these components using virtual patients.The project will take advantage of the considerable expertise of all the partners involved to achieve this through the various project activities and outputs that can be utilised by academics and students across Europe. VR PAIN has 3 core objectives: (j) Curriculum reviewing and mapping process to develop a matrix that demonstrates where, when, how clinical reasoning skills, pain management and clinical placement occur in physiotherapy programmes and identifies which aspects of the curriculum can encompass VR-based. (ii) Enhance the development of clinical reasoning skills in pain management through established User Experience (Ux) educational design principles and VR interactive experience (iii) Provide a Technology Assessment Model (TAM) for the standardisation of clinical reasoning knowledge and skills for students and graduates across Europe and beyond through reusable 3D assets educational resources (VR clinical cases).
This project addresses a critical gap in physiotherapy education: developing clinical reasoning skills for pain management. Pain is a primary reason patients seek physiotherapy, and as physiotherapists increasingly serve as first-contact practitioners—especially in Europe—strong clinical reasoning is essential. The project targets challenges in clinical placements, where limited capacity often restricts students' exposure to real patients, hindering their ability to apply theoretical knowledge in practice. To bridge this gap, the project uses virtual reality (VR) technology to create immersive virtual patient cases, allowing students to develop clinical reasoning in a safe, controlled environment. VR enhances knowledge retention, improves decision-making, and ensures standardization across institutions, overcoming geographical and resource disparities. Beyond clinical skills, the project promotes competencies such as communication, empathy, and teamwork, which are vital for holistic care. With collaboration from academic partners in Ireland and the Netherlands, the project has created a transformative framework for physiotherapy education, preparing students to deliver better patient care.