Virtual Reality & Nursing Education

Judging from my experience as a nursing student and as a nurse educator, classes such as  anatomy, physiology and pharmacology are among the most difficult for students to grasp. Much of the material students need to comprehend is intangible and yet so vital to understand if they are going to be able to safely apply it to the context of their patients. For instance, to learn how a medication works to treat a certain medical condition, the nursing student must learn the pathophysiology of the medical condition, the pharmcodynamics and the pharmacokinetics of the medication being administered to help treat life threatening affects of the disease or illness. For instance, in a patient who is suffering from an exacerbation of  COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder), the nursing students need to understand the pathophysiology of the disease process (as described in the short video below) in order to understand the role of bronchodilator, corticosteroid and anticholinergic medication in its treatment and management.

When being asked by Logan and Bill to consider how virtual reality (VR) could positively contribute to the learning of the nursing students I teach , I could not help but envision my students and me in an episode of The Magic School Bus with Ms Frizzle.

I asked myself further… Could VR change the way students learn the complex, overwhelming and intangible information in classes such as the ones discussed above? Instead of losing students in the abyss of information students find themselves caught up in, could immersing students in a virtual experience allow them to more clearly gain insight into a disease processes such as COPD ? In the case of a pharmacology class, could VR allow learners to see on a cellular level how a medication works to manage symptoms and complications associated with a disease process and help them better comprehend and retain the information ? Could VR more effectively teach students how the body actually metabolizes the medication? Could immersing students into the more tangible world of VR increase student engagement and improve overall learning of course content and completion of learning objectives? I think it could.

Furthermore, in the article “When Virtual Reality Meets Education,” if educators and students alike are  seeking an ever-expanding immersive landscape for learning, where students engage with teachers and each other in transformative experiences through a wide spectrum of interactive resources, learning with VR could be more collaborative, interactive and fun! In this way, I definitely think VR may have a valuable place.