Associate nursing dean Abbey Elliott to speak on school’s success with Meta Quest headsets for online learning
Abbey Elliott gets excited when she talks about how Purdue Global nursing students can practice on simulated patients from anywhere in the world, thanks to new virtual reality and AI programs that are compatible with Meta Quest headsets.
Elliott is attending Meta’s inaugural Educators Community Summit in Menlo Park, California, where she will talk about Purdue Global’s success with Meta Quest headsets and VR in higher education settings.
Elliott serves as immersive learning coordinator for Purdue Global and associate dean of innovation and wellness for the School of Nursing. She oversees four simulation centers in Iowa and Maine, and immersive learning opportunities for the nursing graduate program.
“The sky is the limit because it’s becoming easier to build and program these applications and features for students,” Elliott said. “The AI programs have made the conversations and interactions with the avatar more realistic.”
Meta Quest headsets are currently used in nurse practitioner and associate degree programs, but Elliott and her universitywide team are exploring ways to expand VR and extended reality opportunities to students in law school, criminal justice, science, and nursing programs such as the doctor of nursing practice and RN-to-BSN.
According to Elliott, 92% of Purdue Global’s nursing graduate students using VR reported that they feel better prepared for clinical practice.
“VR became very important to us to be able to train and still in a quality way,” Elliott said. “We have seen great outcomes with our students. Students can do VR opportunities at any time of day from anywhere as long as they are connected to Wi-Fi.”
Elliott said they have integrated VR in more classes thanks to the support and vision of Purdue Global leaders like Melissa Burdi, dean and vice president of the School of Nursing.
“VR can be tailored to the student, so if they need more time on a clinical lesson and don’t understand certain parts of the class, they can spend more time building competency in that area,” Elliott said.
Program coordinators and faculty members are also trained in VR and Meta Quest headsets, having the ability to assist with tech issues and monitor students’ progress in classes.
“Faculty members appreciate the data from Meta because it gives them a bigger view of how the students are handling the simulation,” she said. “Are they assessing the patient correctly? Are they picking the right diagnoses?”
The Meta Quest headsets are equipped with PCS Spark for nurse practitioner students and Oxford Medical Simulation for the undergraduates, each embedded with AI components to help students learn about working with AI technology. Both have provided positive feedback for nursing leadership and faculty.
“The undergraduate students can’t believe how realistic it is. They will say it’s just like the clinical rotation and how they feel they are at the hospital,” Elliott said. “We know we’re hitting the mark on realism and being student-centered in the products.”
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Foto: Purdue Global nursing students practice virtual reality clinicals using Meta Quest headsets. (Purdue Global photo/Doug Mott)