Research on Ethical Dilemmas and Coping Strategies in Medical Education under Metaverse Technology

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-598-5_32How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Metaverse; Medical Education; Ethical Dilemmas

Abstract

Virtual world technology is reshaping medical education, but its adoption has raised unresolved ethical obligations. We proposed a Technology-teaching-ethics-Outcomes framework and integrated the evidence through a review from 2019 to 2025 and two illustrative cases to map out the benefits, risks and remedies. The case studies of HoloAnatomy mixed-reality program and virtual reality basic life support modules offer learning outcomes comparable to traditional teaching, while revealing governance gaps in telemetry, consent, and equity. We have combined three recurring predicaments: data privacy and security, algorithmic bias and interpretability, as well as technical dependencies that may erode professional judgment. In response, we recommend taking feasible safeguard measures: purpose-limited data flow, minimized and time-limited retention, role-based access, clear and revocation non-punitive opt-out consent, design-based security architecture, and capacity building that combines digitalization with the humanistic qualities of teachers and learners. The TPEO framework clarifies how moral guardrails affect teaching efficiency and institutional trust, providing a practical roadmap for compliant and scalable deployment. Our conclusion is that metaverse tools can expand access, accelerate mastery and support elastic delivery, but lasting value depends on embedding design ethics and strong data governance from the very beginning.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Feifei Chu
AU  - Fan Wang
AU  - Xiangyu Feng
AU  - Jing Wang
AU  - Yongkang Cao
AU  - Jinting Shang
AU  - Xiji Shu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
TI  - Research on Ethical Dilemmas and Coping Strategies in Medical Education under Metaverse Technology
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 6th  International Conference on Big Data and Social Sciences (ICBDSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 324
EP  - 332
SN  - 2352-538X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-598-5_32
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-598-5_32
ID  - Chu2026
ER  -