VR pilot for nursing students shows value of simulation

Nearly 900 nursing students participated in an immersive virtual reality pilot project that put them through several clinical scenarios at the University of Alberta's Nursing Simulation Centre this past semester. "This gives people the chance to practice (care) on their own and give their best swing at it, without any of the real-world consequences that could come with it," student and facilitator Drew Owen told Global News. "You forget that you're in this space and you really feel like you're there in the hospital. "

Medical simulation is increasingly becoming part of post-secondary education. NAIT's Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation opened in 2016, accelerating its collaborations with healthtech companies around 2022. In April of this year, CAMS held a mass-casualty scenario based on a building collapse, with more than 100 students from five post-secondary institutions participating.

Collaboration in classrooms, simulations, and the real world all help health professionals work better together, the U of A's Sharla King said on a recent episode of the Advancing Healthcare Through Simulation podcast from CAMS. She said collaborative simulation environments are "always growing" and "always expanding," and she'd like to see real-life practicums follow suit. She added that it may be easier to see that result with new advanced degrees for educators, such as a doctorate that she is trying to co-build that takes inspiration from interprofessional education and principles of health systems science.