Objective: With the ongoing digital transformation of higher education in recent years, virtual simulation experiment teaching has emerged as a key direction for instructional reform in universities. Taking the course Pain Diagnostics and Therapeutics offered by the School of Anesthesiology at Wannan Medical University as an example, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual simulation experiment system in the experimental teaching of this course. Methods: A total of 236 anesthesiology students from the class of 2021 were enrolled as research participants and randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group. The control group received traditional teaching combining theoretical lectures with bedside clinical observation. The experimental group underwent a blended teaching model consisting of virtual simulation teaching plus bedside clinical observation, which included three stages: online virtual pre-training, offline inclass hands-on practice, and clinical observation with virtual-real mutual verification. Results: The experimental group demonstrated significantly better performance than the control group across all evaluation indicators (all P<0.001). Regarding course scores, the experimental group achieved a mean score of 90.98±6.23, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (85.28±4.42). The experimental group also showed marked superiority in regular assessment scores (92.58±5.42 vs. 84.56±5.44) and final theoretical examination scores (90.30±6.58 vs. 85.59±3.98). In terms of clinical reasoning ability, the mean score of the experimental group reached 27.55±1.59, far exceeding that of the control group (20.42±2.87). Regarding teaching satisfaction, the experimental group had significantly higher proportions of students reporting enhanced learning interest (91.53% vs. 55.08%), in-depth understanding of learning content (80.51% vs. 63.56%), and a comfortable clinical teaching atmosphere (69.49% vs. 49.15%) compared with the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: The blended teaching model integrating virtual and real practice improves teaching effectiveness, helps consolidate students’ professional theoretical foundation, and enhances their clinical reasoning ability. Therefore, this approach holds positive reference value for the teaching reform of Pain Diagnostics and Therapeutics.
Keywords: Pain diagnostics and therapeutics, Virtual simulation, Experimental teaching, Teaching reform

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