ALTOONA, Pa. — Students in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State Altoona are using virtual reality (VR) to enhance their learning.
VR simulation uses immersive, 3D characteristics to replicate real-life situations. “VR is a way for our students to experience and work through high-stress situations in a supportive learning environment without the fear of harming a patient,” said Victoria Kellogg, assistant teaching professor in nursing.
After beta testing VR during the spring 2023 semester, students vocalized positive learning experiences, so grants were submitted to obtain permanent equipment and software.
A Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing Innovation Grant allowed for the purchase of 15 Meta Quest 3 VR headsets and accessories. Three more grants were used to buy VR scenarios from Oxford Medical Simulation software company: a dementia scenario through a Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence grant; a pre-eclampsia scenario through a Schreyer Institution for Teaching Excellence grant; and a non-traumatic injury pediatric scenario through a Chancellor’s Development Fund.
Nursing faculty are also incorporating VR 360 videos into their courses. In pediatrics, students experience a party as a young teenager with autism. Advanced medical/surgical students experience a cardiac arrest situation, and in women’s health issues, students experience human trafficking and homelessness. Faculty pre-brief and debrief students on their video experience to enrich their learning. “It has been incredibly exciting to watch our students learn with this technology,” said Elizabeth Ann Gatchell, assistant teaching professor of nursing and Simulation Lab coordinator. “They are able to have experiences we could never provide them in the real world.”
Kellogg and Gatchell partnered with David Barnes, teaching professor of information science and technology, to hire information technology and cyber science students Steven McKimm and Logan Dermont as unpaid interns for this academic year. They assisted in the initial VR hardware set-up and downloaded the software and now maintain the equipment and assist nursing faculty and students during VR sessions.
VR is an engaging technology that helps nursing students acquire skills, build confidence, and increase their critical thinking and clinical judgment. “Students have to know how to respond in healthcare situations,” says Kellogg. “VR provides nursing students with this learning opportunity.”