Clickbait Style Title: “Witness the Revolution! Virtual Reality Training for Nurses Has Arrived in Minnesota”
Revolutionizing Nursing Training with Virtual Reality: University of Minnesota, Partners Launch Pilot Program
The University of Minnesota School of Nursing is pioneering a project that is changing how nurses are trained. Joined by two other school partners, Purdue University and the University of Michigan, the initiative to explore virtual reality technology in healthcare is being supported by a $1.3 million grant from the American Nurses Foundation.
Introducing the First Multiple-Patient Virtual Reality Scenario
For the first time ever, nurses are having the opportunity to be completely immersed in simulated hospital settings, through an impressive virtual reality experience. Through headsets, speakers, and hand controllers, nurses can interact with a range of patients in different medical scenarios, such as labor and delivery and anaphylaxis. Cynthia Bradley, assistant professor and director of simulation for nursing programs at the U of M, says, “When they put on the headset, they’re completely immersed in the patient’s room. You can move across the room, you go to the bedside, you talk to the patient. They can make all the decisions we expect nurses to make without any risk to any real patient.”
M Health Fairview Joins the Experiment to Impact Nurse Retention
The U of M’s virtual reality nursing pilot program is joining forces with Minnesota-based healthcare provider M Health Fairview, to provide immersive simulations to current nurses in their residence program. Nearly 30 nurses at Fairview participated in virtual reality simulations at the U of M School of Nursing this week. Lauren Nitahara, who has been working as an emergency department nurse for four months, remarked, “It gave me a lot more autonomy, a lot more room to make mistakes, without that pressure of, oh my gosh, this is a real patient and there are real consequences.”
Program Coordinators Believe New Technology May Improve Nurse Retention
The program coordinators stated that the virtual reality technology is allowing nursing students and new nurses to experience stress-filled situations in a low-risk environment. Katie Pitzl, assistant manager of clinical education and learning at M Health Fairview, added, “I just have high hopes for where this can go for our profession.” This technology may ultimately help nurses have realistic expectations of the job and thereby improve nurse retention.
Program Expected to Roll Out Nationwide in the Years To Come
As the pilot program in Minnesota grows, coordinators are expecting to roll out the virtual reality simulation experience to other schools across the country in the years to come. As Cynthia Bradley mentions, “There’s a lot happening in health care right now where nurses are in situations they’ve not been in before. It’s very challenging, we have a nursing shortage and there’s a lot of extra variables impacting how nurses deliver care. Our goal is to help nurses feel prepared and confident to take on all of the things they’re seeing in health care today.”