## 5 Conclusions  
The primary objective of healthcare education is to cultivate competent and empathetic healthcare practitioners capable of delivering safe and effective care to those seeking medical treatment. Utilizing virtual reality simulation has substantially impacted healthcare, as it has focused on maximizing its application to improve overall safety, efficacy, and productivity. Virtual reality helps students become acquainted with the hot lab environment before clinical practice to reduce radiophobia and safety concerns. This capability enabled students to pre-emptively practice aspects of radiopharmaceutical preparation that they previously saw as daunting. By giving students a way to bridge the gap between theory and practice, virtual reality allowed users to engage in simulated radiopharmaceutical preparation that made it possible for \"safe fails\". This experience is critical in building confidence and developing the skills required. Moreover, this study verified that 3 months after the virtual reality training, the student knowledge retention was significantly more significant than the video training. The VR group had a 6.69-fold more significant number of virtual reality group participants, scoring > 80% than the control group. Radiological technology students reacted more favorably to the VR immersive learning experience addressing radiation safety than the computer-based training (control group), as the VR-simulated hot lab was more comparable to the real-world hot lab scenario than the videos. Virtual reality as a pedagogical tool enhanced students' information retention, active participation, performance, and satisfaction, and students requested it be added to the curriculum. Developing a VR pedagogical tool for hot laboratory simulation shows promise for enhancing learning outcomes and reducing radiophobia in nuclear science education. By providing immersive experiences and addressing psychological barriers, VR has the potential to revolutionize the way complex subjects are taught and understood. Further research and refinement of VR educational tools are warranted to maximize their impact on learning and student engagement. Repeated testing over extended periods is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions in fostering long-term knowledge retention. The findings from this study could inform best practices in educational methodologies for radiological technology, potentially influencing curriculum design to favor methods that ensure sustained competence and confidence in preparing radiopharmaceuticals. The following supporting information can be downloaded at: [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app14125041/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app14125041/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app14125041/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app14125041/s1)). Table S1: Assessment of radiation dose in nuclear medicine controlled areas during preparation and handling of \({}^{99 mTc}\)Tc-MDP radiopharmaceutical in hot lab. The data are presented as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation (\(n=3\)); Table S2: Evaluation of virtual reality as a technological tool: technology acceptance model (TAM) and content validation: content validity index (CVI). The data are presented as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation (\(n=3\)); Table S3:Satisfaction in VR-enhanced learning experience: prioritizing educational significance and practicality in VR-assisted teaching. The data are presented as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation (\(n=30\)). Statistical significance is indicated as follows: **\(p\leq 0.01\)** and ***\(p\leq 0.001\); Figure S1: Assessment of the cybersickness questionnaire in the training module after training simulations of the control group and VR group. The questionnaire consists of 5 points: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. A numerical score is assigned to each question to quantify the strength of the response data. The response anchors \"strongly agree\" and \"strongly disagree\" are positioned at the ends of the scale.