Tag

Nursing

Empowering Nursing Students Through Virtual Reality: A Leap Towards Competency and Confidence

Nursing students are stuck between a rock and a virtual hard place; it’s a tough spot for the budding nurse entering the profession to help people. Often, students find themselves caught between the desire for more immersive learning tools and the limitations of traditional education methods. The demand for engaging, realistic training experiences that prepare them for real-life patient care has never been higher. Today, we delve into how virtual reality (VR) meets these demands through platforms like VRpatients by innovating the toolset available to educators and simulation technologists.

The Challenge: Seeking Engagement and Realism Amongst a Staffing Shortage

Traditional simulation methods, while foundational, often aim to capture the complexity and unpredictability of clinical care but fall victim to ineffective training outcomes (watch three PhDs discuss this topic). Nursing students need more than just textbook knowledge and theory; they yearn for interactive, engaging tools that offer a safe space to practice their clinical decision-making skills and make mistakes without fear of real-world consequences. It is 2024, and better and more innovative tools are required to combat staffing shortages, meet student needs, and produce more competent professionals faster, but how?

The Solution: Virtual Reality as a Training Tool

VRpatients emerges as a game-changer in nursing education by providing a risk-free environment where students can gain hands-on experience with diverse clinical scenarios. This innovative platform simulates nearly any clinical case, competency, or outcome at the click of a button, bridging the gap between theory and practice.

How VRpatients Empowers Students and Educators

Siloed Immersive Learning: Asynchronous bespoke VR simulations engage students in safe and diverse clinical circumstances anywhere, anytime. Formative or summative, access to 24/7 high-fidelity simulation for 1hundreds of students simultaneously with analytics reporting directly back to the educator is a power unseen in the history of clinical simulation.
Safe Space for Practice: Virtual simulations offer a judgment-free zone where students can learn from their mistakes and refine their skills without the fear of harming actual patients. A siloed simulation where somebody cannot pull the rug out from under the student allows them to complete their mistakes and debrief on the learning objectives, supports students‘ anxiety in the sim, and creates a memorable, positive learning experience.
Bespoke Learning Toolset: With VRpatients, students can access tailored simulations that match their learning needs, allowing for targeted skill improvement and accommodating different learning styles. Faculty can quickly design simulations that reflect local protocols or their diverse community, and the budding student will enter the workforce more practiced and prepared.
Preparation for Real-Life Situations: By practicing high-risk scenarios in a virtual environment, students build confidence and competence, and hospitals train on and reduce sentinel events, better preparing all for essential patient care and improved outcomes.

The Future is Virtual

The future of nursing education is on the cusp of a transformative era, with VR technology and AI leading the charge. Spatial passthrough is set to revolutionize how students practice, blending virtual patients into their physical surroundings for a seamless, realistic training experience. Advanced physiologic engines will offer lifelike patient reactions, enriching students‘ understanding of complex medical scenarios. Artificial Intelligence will personalize learning paths and objective assessments, ensuring each student’s journey is unique and validated. This trifecta of technological advancements heralds a new age of immersive, tailored, and medically precise nursing education.

Virtual reality is more than just a technological novelty; with the right solution partner, it can be migratable, upgradable, and sustainable. It is a powerful tool in the arsenal of nursing education, capable of preparing future nurses for the demands of healthcare with confidence and competence. As we look to the future, platforms like VRpatients will set a new standard in shaping the next generation of nursing professionals.

Quelle:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/empowering-nursing-students-through-virtual-datnc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

5. April 2024 0 comment

Examples

UbiSim’s Intuitive Editor Creates Meaningful Virtual Reality Simulations for Nursing Students

Nursing Simulation Clinical Educators looking for a customizable tool to create meaningful virtual realitysimulations for nursing students will appreciate learning more about the UbiSim platform’s Intuitive Editor. Imagine finding a scenario that almost meets educational needs, but requires an adjustment for the patient, the equipment needed, or the medications taken. The clinical simulation scenario also has the patient information and background, but the environment or person accompanying the patient needs to be changed. The Intuitive Editor in UbiSim can seamlessly answer these issues. This HealthySimulation.com article will explore how the Intuitive Editor in UbiSim can allow the simulation educator to adjust a scenario to meet the exact learning needs of students or trainees.

UbiSim is the only Virtual Reality (VR) nursing platform with a truly Intuitive Editor. Nurse educators and simulationists can personally customize UbiSim’s existing peer-reviewed scenarios however they like, create their own immersive VR simulations from scratch, or even use scenarios shared by other nursing programs within our UbiSim Community.

Innovative nurse educators utilize clinical simulation to provide learning opportunities specific to the diverse needs of their communities and patient populations. The ideal simulation platform is highly customizable, simple to learn, and intuitive to use. In simulation, customization is especially important, as educators must present a variety of learning situations that mirror the complex and ever-changing healthcare landscape.

UbiSim is the only immersive VR educational platform focused solely on nursing. VR is a powerful modality that provides meaningful, impactful simulation experiences. To best meet the widest variety of learning objectives, the ideal VR platform will provide simulations that are ready to use, with an authoring function that allows for robust scenario customization without the need for any technical coding.

Nurse educators now have a user-friendly VR solution focused entirely on nursing that provides the opportunity to create healthcare simulation experiences to meet their learners’ educational needs. UbiSim offers a unique, fully customizable solution for all levels of pre-licensure nursing education and hospital training. The UbiSim Intuitive Editor is a revolutionary, user-friendly authoring tool that empowers nurse educators to customize and design VR simulations.

Multiple Ways for Nurse Educators to Design and Customize Scenarios

The UbiSim Editor can be accessed and utilized from a web browser, so a VR headset is not needed for scenario design. Nurse educators can utilize the UbiSim Editor in three distinct ways. First, educators can choose from the UbiSim library of peer-reviewed, pre-made simulation scenarios. These scenarios are designed by nursing simulation experts and encompass patients from across the lifespan with a multitude of distinct healthcare needs. The pre-made scenarios feature a user-friendly format, with the reassurance that the nursing simulation is evidence-based and designed in accordance with simulation best practice guidelines.

https://www.healthysimulation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UbiSim_Editor.gif

Second, educators can use the Intuitive Editor to customize the existing UbiSim scenarios. The customizability of UbiSim makes the platform truly special, as small alterations to the patient’s condition, social history, or treatment plan can create a completely new experience for students. Customizing the pre-made VR scenarios can be done quickly (in 15 minutes or less), with the UbiSim Intuitive Editor seamlessly guiding the educator through the entire process. The ability to generate customizable scenarios helps the educator to meet distinct learning objectives that focus on specific patient populations, wellness goals, and disease processes.

The third way nursing educators can use the UbiSim Intuitive Editor is to create their own VR simulation scenarios from scratch. The Editor guides the nurse educator through every step of the simulation design process and ensures that the scenario contains all the elements required for a robust and meaningful student learning experience.

However, when the Intuitive Editor is used, UbiSim brings the simulation to life in an immersive, engaging, and exciting VR setting in which students can build the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to provide safe, high-quality nursing care.

Meeting the Cultural Competency Needs in Nursing Education

UbiSim’s sole focus on nursing education allows the Editor to continuously meet the emerging educational needs of the nursing profession. Cultural competency, the ability of healthcare professionals to meet the social and cultural needs of patients from diverse communities and backgrounds, is at the forefront of nursing education. Nursing students need preparation in how to best care for diverse patient populations.

UbiSim VR simulation scenarios feature patients from a multitude of backgrounds. By utilizing the UbiSim platform, students will learn to excel in providing culturally competent nursing care across the lifespan as they progress through every level of their education.

A Variety of Healthcare Settings

The UbiSim Intuitive Editor allows the nurse educator to stage the simulation in a variety of healthcare settings. In addition to a traditional hospital room, UbiSim simulations can occur in an outpatient healthcare facility. A home care environment is under development and will be available soon.

This range of healthcare settings realistically immerses students in situations across the continuum of care. Educators can utilize this functionality of the UbiSim Editor to focus virtual reality simulation scenarios on medically underserved populations in the community.

Preparing Nursing Students for Present and Future Pandemics

The COVID-19 pandemic revolutionized healthcare delivery. More than ever, nursing education must emphasize the need for precautions and infection prevention when caring for patients. The UbiSim Editor features virtual representations of various isolation precautions and personal protective equipment, including isolation gowns, N95 masks, and face shields. This provides an opportunity for students to care for patients with COVID-19 and other disease processes while learning how to prevent the transmission of infections in the healthcare setting.

Complex Patients and Interdisciplinary Collaboration

The U.S. patient population is growing increasingly complex. UbiSim scenarios fully immerse the students in a VR environment where critical thinking can be practiced, demonstrated, and refined. Students in a UbiSim VR scenario assess patients across the lifespan, administer medications, analyze the results of diagnostic tests, and practice therapeutic communication.

The UbiSim multiplayer function provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration by immersing several students in the same simulation scenario. Within a nursing program, students from different levels can collaborate in VR using the multiplayer function to learn delegation and leadership. This helps to build competence and confidence in nursing care, clinical judgment, and teamwork. The ability to utilize scenarios among junior and senior nursing students also capitalizes on the school’s return on investment, as multiple classes can benefit from the same simulation resources. This is an especially important feature of the UbiSim platform, as many nursing schools must be resourceful and choose educational platforms that can be maximized to reach all students within a program.

A Collaborative Future for Nursing Education

Educators share the goal of providing the best learning experiences to future nurses. UbiSim is dedicated to exclusively serving the nurse educator community. Contact UbiSim through the link below for a short demonstration of our Intuitive Editor and discover the world-class UbiSim experience. Jump in and have fun with scenario design!

Quelle:

https://www.healthysimulation.com/54909/ubisim-nursing-simulation-virtual-reality-scenario-editor/

29. März 2024 0 comment

Examples

The Future of Nursing Education: Exploring Virtual Reality and Simulation Technology

Nursing students at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh are now benefiting from the latest technology to prepare for the healthcare environments of the future. The College of Nursing’s Simulation Training Center has long provided hands-on experience for both undergraduate and graduate students. However, recent investments in virtual reality and other advanced technologies have expanded the possibilities of nursing simulation.

The addition of four Meta Quest 2 headsets allows students to practice their skills in virtual reality, providing a level of realism beyond previous generations of nursing students. With these headsets, students can virtually interact with patients and perform correct interventions, receiving immediate feedback from instructors and peers.

In addition to virtual reality, other technologies such as the SIMVANA immersive virtual reality system and the NeedleTrainer ultrasound-guided training tool are being integrated into the curriculum. These tools allow students to develop critical skills such as needling and fiber-optic bronchoscope intubations in a low-risk environment.

The benefits of simulation technology are clear. It helps lower stress, increase confidence, and enhance learning for students. By allowing students to practice various scenarios repeatedly, they can develop crucial clinical judgment and be better prepared for real-life situations in the clinical setting.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing recognizes the importance of staying up-to-date with evolving healthcare industry trends. To ensure that students receive the best education possible, a lab modernization project is underway. This project aims to update and replace aging equipment, invest in new technologies, and expand virtual reality options and remote coaching capabilities. An investment of $2 million is needed to continue preparing the next generation of nursing professionals.

In conclusion, nursing education is evolving with the integration of virtual reality and advanced simulation technology. These tools offer students a more immersive learning experience, preparing them for the diverse demands of a career in nursing. By embracing technology in education, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing is ensuring that its students are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the healthcare industry.

Sources:
– University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Nursing
– Society for Simulation in Healthcare

Quelle:

https://gameishard.gg/news/the-future-of-nursing-education-exploring-virtual-reality-and-simulation-technology/304845/

17. Oktober 2023 0 comment

Examples

JU students use virtual reality to ready for a career in nursing, and it comes at a good time

Jacksonville University nursing students are adding a new and fun way to learn.

They’re using virtual reality as one method of training as they get ready for a career in healthcare.

“This is truly innovative,” said Dr. Amber Santos, who is the school’s director of innovation and quality. “This is not done at the average nursing school.”

Hannah Bergin is on her way to becoming a nurse.

This way of learning is taking that training to a new level.

“It actually was pretty easy to navigate,” she said.

Nursing students at Jacksonville University are using virtual reality as a part of their coursework.

Dr. Santos and student success specialist Melissa McRae believe this is true active learning and innovation.

“So far the students love it,” Santos said. “The most common [phrase] used is ‘Wow, that’s cool.’”

“It’s really been ‘A-ha!’ moment for the students,” McRae said.

They are getting a closer look at how the heart valves work and how blood vessels can become clogged with certain diseases.

“It was our first time being able to actually go inside the body and see how different parts of the body work,” Bergin said.

This experience is coming at the right time for her.

“With everything going on now, it might be hard to get into the hospital with that hands-on experience as we used to be able to do due to COVID-19,” Bergin said.

McRae thinks using virtual reality is excellent preparation before the students have to treat actual patients.

“They get to practice things like their clinical judgment and make decisions,” McRae said. “Then they can see the consequences for those actions.”

They have been using virtual reality for about a month now.

It is a part of a year-long partnership between Jacksonville University and Baptist Health.

Quelle:

https://www-news4jax-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.news4jax.com/news/local/2022/02/20/ju-students-use-virtual-reality-to-ready-for-a-career-in-nursing-and-it-comes-at-a-good-time/?outputType=amp

1. März 2022 0 comment

Examples

UbiSim Immediately Enables Nursing Programs to Train From VR Experiences

Responding to the global COVID-19 crisis, UbiSim has launched a powerful new training tool for nursing simulation programs in North America which enables nurse educators to record a Virtual Reality experience and immediately share the video lesson with their students. The Virtual Simulation Recorder functionality, launched to help mitigate educational disruptions to Nursing Schools around North America, provides a very quick way for Clinical Simulation faculty, who own VR headsets, to create and share customized video lessons from a first person VR perspective. Here we take a closer look at the UbiSim VR Nursing educational platform and the new Virtual Simulation Recorder — which is already been signed up for by over 60 Nursing Programs and is available now at no cost!

To overcome campus based learning restrictions and to prepare for the eventual return of Nursing students to colleges across the continent, the UbiSim team has worked tirelessly since the start of COVID-19 to provide meaningful training solutions which support the increased use of healthcare simulation. What is of critical importance to note, however, is the affordability of Virtual Reality platforms like UbiSim which maximize access to a diverse range of clinical skills acquisition over traditional medical simulation manikins, audio-visual recording and debriefing systems, technical support staff and specialized sim lab rooms — many of which are currently off limits anyway due to Coronavirus shutdowns.

With a VR headset, educators and learners can quickly be in almost any scene with any type of patient case — and at fraction of the time, energy and money it takes to provide the same experience in the simulation center. That being said, it should be noted that Virtual Reality will never fully replace high-fidelity simulation experiences as team-based communication, hand-eye coordination, and skills based demonstration are all very important to practice in real life. Instead, VR learning tools like UbiSim, enable educators to increase access to additional simulated patient learning opportunities in compliment to the high-fidelity simulation lab experiences.

UbiSim Focuses on Fidelity for Nursing Simulated VR Learning

University of Montreal Nursing Professor and Simulation Program Coordinator Louise-Andrée Brien shared that nursing “students retain the information because they have lived the experience. That’s the big advantage of virtual reality and UbiSim”. The UbiSim VR platform completely immerses nursing students in a realistic 3D environment providing a truly experiential learning opportunity which compliments patient simulator and standardized patient programs. A powerful example of this desire to provide the highest fidelity possible is the way in which UbiSim enables learners to interact with their patients and their environment. Instead of using a laser pointer to click from a drop down of communicative responses or patient engagement options, UbiSim lets nursing students talk to their patients and use 3D animated hand gestures to interact within the experience.

The UbiSim platform also has a wide range of patients, from a 6-week newborn to a geriatric adult, covering pediatrics, geriatrics, med-surg and nursing fundamentals. On top of the included scenario library, UbiSim also provides a web-based authoring tool which enables nursing educators to modify the experience or create their own. UbiSim fan Caroline White, BScN, RN, CHSE, shared that “UbiSim is transforming healthcare education and practice! Nursing Educators are now able to create interactive learning experiences that include virtual patients and realistic environments that assist with the development of essential critical thinking skills… access to simulation has never been so easy.” And as the platform continues to grow, UbiSim has pledged to add more patients, symptoms, animations and equipment to continuously enrich the learning opportunities.

Beyond the classroom, UbiSim can also be run independently by students in a peer-to-peer session requiring no faculty supervision. Since complex clinical situations can be started and repeated in seconds, countless learners will be able to experience the same standardized simulated event. And with immediate feedback from detailed debriefing assessments following UbiSim simulation activities, learners can easily understand areas for improvement and repeat the experience as many times as needed. The cost savings for access to such digital learning tools should be clear!

A Nursing Simulation Lab Now Accessible From Home

In response to the immediate need to support nursing learners stuck in limbo from the COVID-19 pandemic, the UbiSim team is providing free access to their newly developed Virtual Simulation Recorder system. This is a temporary solution to the global crisis so that Nursing educators who already have access to VR hardware, can create and record simulation videos in the UbiSim Virtual Reality environment to publish and share with learners stuck at home. Learners can watch these custom clinical patient interactions, procedure demonstrations and equipment manipulations, which immediately meet unique educator curriculum requirements.

“Numerous colleges asked us to provide an immediate way to quickly continue high-fidelity simulation training while campuses are closed. As our top priority is to support Nursing educators and their students, we immediately set to work to build and share the new Virtual Simulation Recorder to help them overcome COVID-19 disruptions” says UbiSim Business Director Gauthier Dubruel. Since launching the platform, the UbiSim team has reported that over 60 nursing programs from across North America have already signed up to start using the free tool. “We will continue to help in any way we can!” says Gauthier.

As some states within the US are expanding the use of simulation to meet the lack of missed clinical rotations (now and in the future), UbiSim’s support is well timed for both short-term and long-term benefits.

More About the UbiSim Company

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, UbiSim is a multidisciplinary team of nursing educators, simulation experts, software engineers and 3D artists passionate about healthcare simulation and virtual reality. Their mission is to use the unique advantages of VR to make nursing simulation more accessible and realistic than ever before. Because better trained nurses, means better and safer patient care!

Quelle:

https://www.healthysimulation.com/23812/ubisim-virtual-simulation-recorder/

15. April 2020 0 comment

Examples

Conflict Resolution VR program helps train nursing students

A world first virtual reality (VR) simulation to help train nursing students in conflict resolution is being rolled out at the University of Newcastle’s (UON) Ourimbah Campus.

The Conflict Resolution VR program replicates a real world emergency room and asks students to respond to a high pressure mock scenario. As part of the Bachelor of Nursing, students undertaking their mental health module are immersed via a VR headset.

Faced with ‘Angry Stan’, an avatar based on real world interactions, users must remain calm and navigate a range of challenges to manage the situation. The program is a collaboration between UON’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and the University’s IT Services Innovation Team, and is the first of its kind to respond with real time biofeedback including the human heart rate.

It gives second year students a realistic insight into the clinical workplace where they can practice controlling their stress levels, managing conflict and building resilience in the classroom before entering the clinical environment. “Working in an emergency environment can be incredibly demanding, with emotions running high and competing priorities, ” said project lead and lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr Donovan Jones.

“Knowing how to effectively diffuse an escalating situation while keeping a clear head can make a life-changing difference in emergency care, which is why we want to ensure that our graduates are well equipped with resilience training when entering the workforce, ” he added. With more than 30 years’ experience in the field, Professor of Mental Health Nursing, Mike Hazelton, formed part of the team to develop Angry Stan based on his very real, lived experience.

“Nursing is an incredibly rewarding career, however it’s an environment where emotions can run high as you encounter people who are having possibly the worst day of their lives, ” Prof Hazelton said. “Stan represents someone that health workers may come face to face with in an emergency environment. “He is looking for his friend who has been brought in as a patient and is becoming increasingly agitated, ” he said.

Dr Jones said that the task at hand was to assess the situation and respond to Stan’s questions in a way which puts him at ease, alongside balancing competing priorities, whilst also maintaining a steady heartrate. “Essentially, the calmer they remain, the easier Stan and the scenario is to deal with. “Even if unprovocative responses are selected by the user, the wording is altered to be more provocative if the technology picks up from their heart rate that they are stressed, ” Dr Jones said.

“We support a zero tolerance for violence against healthcare workers, which is why it was imperative to develop an immersive training program where students can practise dealing with these potential situations in a safe, repeatable and realistic environment, ” Prof Hazelton added.

Looking at the bigger picture, Dr Jones said the team behind the program was working towards ensuring that it can become a valuable resource outside of the higher education sector, with the goal to see it adopted into health training and best practice across the board. “Equipping employees with ways to maintain their mental health should be of paramount importance. “We realise that dealing with conflict in the workplace isn’t something that’s exclusive to healthcare.

“Moving forward, we’d like to explore gender roles and environments within Conflict Resolution to make it applicable to people working across a range of industries, ” he said. With this training under their belt, UON’s next wave of health workers could very well be bringing an entirely new approach to staff patient interactions to healthcare providers across the Coast and it can’t come soon enough given the year that was at the Coast’s two major hospitals.

Staff dissatisfaction regarding security, safety and workflow at Wyong and Gosford Hospitals made consistent headlines this year, with seven rallies over conditions, disputes and safety concerns held across both hospitals since January. Security in particular, has been a prominent issue for Wyong Hospital staff with representative bodies like the Nurses and Midwives Association of NSW and the Health Services Union (HSU) NSW both lending support to staff claims that security and safety had fallen by the wayside due to chronic staff shortages.

After a lengthy campaign for more security staff championed by the HSU NSW, the State Government is in the process of rolling out 13 new security officers (to be shared across Wyong, Gosford and Blacktown Hospitals) and CCTV cameras in each hospital’s Emergency Department. When announcing the trial in November, NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, said its focus would be on identifying and intervening in security incidents before they escalated to violence.

With the focus seemingly on preventative measures regarding staff safety across the board, the Chronicle contacted both the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) and HSU NSW to discuss how a resource like Conflict Resolution could change the landscape of Emergency Departments. The CCLHD declined to comment.

A HSU NSW spokesperson said that while the HSU considers de-escalation training to be critically important to reducing violence against hospital staff, it was by no means a suitable replacement for the employment of security officers.

“The most critical thing in reducing violence is employing more security officers. “We urgently need at least 200 new officers across metropolitan NSW, with special constable powers, ” the spokesperson said.

Quelle:

Source: Media release, Nov 25 UON Media Media statement, Dec 9 Central Coast Local Health District Media Media statement, Dec 11 Nick Lucchinelli, HSU NSW Reporter: Dilon Luke

Conflict Resolution VR program helps train nursing students

Image: Conflict Resolution, a world-first VR training program for nursing students is being used by Central Coast nursing students

24. Dezember 2019 0 comment

Examples

With virtual reality, woman helps nursing-home residents see the world without leaving home

By LAUREN LUMPKIN | The Washington Post

Jim Halsey, 83, has traveled to Japan and South Korea, through Europe and Central America. One recent day, he squatted in a narrow, wooden boat and watched as an elephant trudged through a swamp in Botswana.

Halsey, who was an intellectual-property lawyer before he retired, didn’t have to leave his wheelchair at Powhatan Nursing Home in Falls Church to make the trip. He and several other residents at the retirement facility strapped on virtual-reality goggles and journeyed to the country in southern Africa, as well as to Antarctica.

Carleigh Berryman, 22, zigzagged between wheelchairs to fit virtual-reality goggle headsets on the residents of the retirement home. Her company, Viva Vita, is designed to bring virtual-reality experiences to older men and women who can no longer travel.

“It’s exciting. It’s different,” Halsey said about his virtual tour through Botswana. He described orangutans and tigers that appeared in the bulky set of goggles on his face.

Berryman created Viva Vita while still a student at George Washington University. She secured $5,000 in seed money from the school’s New Venture Competition for budding entrepreneurs.

Berryman entered the competition as a senior — advancing through several rounds while studying for exams and preparing for graduation — and won the runner-up cash prize in April. The money has helped pay for equipment and cover costs associated with registering the company.

Since 2009, the university has given more than $2.3 million in cash prizes and in-kind contributions — such as co-working spaces and legal services — to about 2,000 student entrepreneurs, said Lex McCusker, director of student entrepreneurship programs at GWU.

Colleges have been criticized for graduating students who feel unprepared for the real world. But McCusker said the money from GWU has helped graduates launch successful startups, including the beverage company Capital Kombucha, the digital marketing agency Social Driver and KnoNap — a napkin that changes colors when it detects sedatives and “date rape” drugs in drinks.

This summer, GWU hosted 10 small businesses in its inaugural Summer Startup Accelerator. Berryman and her student intern spent nine weeks refining the company’s business model, connecting with local retirement communities and developing a pitch for investors.

“We did have some investor interest. We had two or three people that we’re still talking to now,” Berryman said. “We want to gain some more traction and show someone why they should invest.”

Halsey’s wife, Ellie Dasenbrook, 73, stood behind her husband’s wheelchair as he watched the 360-degree video inside his headset. Unlike traditional videos, 360-degree videos are recorded by shooting multiple directions at once. They provide a panoramic view that moves with the viewer.

A smile spread across Dasenbrook’s face.

“This type of activity is exactly what they need,” said Dasenbrook, who visits her husband every day at Powhatan. “They can’t travel like they used to, but they should still have these opportunities. They need the cognitive exercise.”

The virtual-reality video used by 90-year-old Mary Chiappetta took her swimming under ice caps in Antarctica.

“I usually watch these things on television,” Chiappetta said. “It’s a wonderful project. You’ve seen pictures before, but this is right in front of you.”

Berryman got the idea for Viva Vita about two years ago at GWU when she started learning about high rates of anxiety and depression among older Americans. It made Berryman think about her 78-year-old grandmother.

“It’s not something you think about as a young person at all,” Berryman said. “Their symptoms of anxiety or depression go unnoticed or go untreated, and it’s this accepted part of aging.”

In 2017, adults 85 and older had one of the nation’s highest suicide rates: 20.1 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national average among all age groups is 14 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

Jordan Yates, Powhatan’s activities coordinator, said the facility has a geriatric psychiatrist who talks to residents and adjusts their medication dosages. In her role, Yates encourages “as much socialization as possible” among residents.

“I feel like it’s a good way to get them back into the community,” Yates said about the virtual-reality goggles. “It’s bringing them back to the things that they enjoy.”

Viva Vita, a mash-up of Spanish and Latin, means “live life,” Berryman said.

“Maybe we can bring some joy back into these seniors’ lives,” she said. “We can bring something exciting to them so they can keep learning and exploring the world.”

Berryman used her own money and the $5,000 she earned in the New Venture Competition to purchase goggles from Oculus, a virtual-reality company owned by Facebook. She finds free 360-degree travel videos online to play inside the headsets.

Berryman said she has earned “a few thousand dollars in the past few months” by booking sessions with about 10 suburban retirement communities, including Powhatan.

“I’m able to pay my rent, and that is great for me,” she said.

Residents who experimented with virtual reality said they would try it again.
Alice Murray, 87, said that next time, she would like to travel virtually to Ireland. She called the country home for 20 years.

“It was good seeing all these things without getting out your chair,” she said.

Quelle:

Foto: Alice Murray, 87, describes nature scenes to activities assistant Erin Albano at Powhatan Nursing Home in Falls Church, Va., on Oct. 10. (Jahi Chikwendiu, The Washington Post)

With virtual reality, woman helps nursing-home residents see the world without leaving home

28. Oktober 2019 0 comment

Examples

Virtual Reality Nursing Schools Now A Reality

DALLAS, Texas – A newly-expanded simulation lab offers invaluable experiences to Texas nursing students.

For soon-to-be nurse, Haleigh Tompkins, hands-on learning has become invaluable.

She’s in her last year of school at the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing, which just doubled the size of its simulation center.

Jeanne Carey at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing Simulation Center, (LHSON Sim Center), explains „simulation allows us to control the situation completely“.

The demand for more nurses is becoming harder to fill. Part of the problem is the lack of opportunities available for nursing students in clinical, real-life settings like a hospital.

Carey at LHSON Sim Center says, „there is no guarantee of exactly what kind of clinical experience every student is going to get. We bring them to the simulation lab and presto, change-o, they can experience a child with a seizure and we can do it over and over again“.

Ongoing research at the school finds students who get extensive experience in simulation may perform better than peers who don’t.

Enter virtual reality researcher doctor Kelly Rossler. She guides students through the technology, not only as a low-cost way to build their muscle memory for routine, get vital procedures, but to learn from them.

Dr. Kelly Rossler, assistant professor: „We’re hoping to find, and what we are seeing as we are looking at new nurses who can go out and they are able to communicate as any professional team members. They have confidence in going into a clinical setting and their practice setting to be a member of that new team that they have entered into.“

It’s high-tech training for the next generation of nurses helping to fill a critical gap.

Tompkins said, „it’s really nice to have the simulation center here to practice those skills because you may not get that exposure until you graduate as a new nurse“.

The school expanded its skills labs and is designing new simulation spaces like a birthing suite, an operating room and a home health setting.

Quelle:

https://vrroom.buzz/vr-news/trends/virtual-reality-nursing-schools-now-reality

16. Oktober 2018 0 comment