Abstract

Background and Purpose: Concerning the sensitive tasks of surgeons and nurses, nobody could overlook the need to use virtual reality techniques and serious games in the age of information and knowledge for training surgical cognitive skills in different fields of medicine. Game-based educational software with realism and high quality is a notable strategy to limit the high risk of traditional surgical training that can reduce medical errors and improve patient safety. Materials and Method: This was a semi-experimental research, that 30 surgical technologist students were selected by census method and trained with the simulation games. A practical simulation and a theoretical assessment tests were taken before and after the training to measure the participants’ amount of skills and basic knowledge. Findings: After passing the course in a simulated environment at the workshop, students' knowledge scores by 100% were at a good level, and their scores in cognitive skills of spinal fusion surgery by 100% were at the dominant level as well. Conclusion: Serious games are used mostly as education tools and supplements in learning and these pieces of software, that are designed with an educational purpose, provide opportunities to gain knowledge as well as cognitive, critical thinking, and problem solving skills in order to perform complex surgical exercises.