VR headsets and a virtual examination room will enable nursing students at UiA to get better at clinical examinations of patients.
The tool creates a virtual reality (VR) where nursing students can practice clinical examinations in a virtual examination room.
The virtual room and the patient become visible when the students put on a VR headset.
“This can really help students learn. They need to practice more to become confident in dealing with patients. Many students report that they are not sure about how to proceed when performing clinical examinations.”
This is what Jørn Hustad says. He is associate professor at the Department of Health and Nursing Science at UiA and is responsible for the development of the tool. The development work has been done in close collaboration with Tor Halvard Svendsen and Sindre Bakken. They developed the software for the VR tool while completing their bachelor’s and master’s degree in multimedia technology and design at UiA.
When putting on a VR headset, users first see a room with many screens. Here, they can choose between eight patient scenarios that they want to practice. Scenarios for students to practice include a patient with a rash, an allergic reaction, a urinary tract infection or a completely healthy patient.
The student then enters an examination room where the patient lies on a bed. A checklist on a computer screen helps the student with what to examine.
“The procedures must be similar to what nursing students will encounter in home care services, nursing homes and hospitals. What’s great is that the students can complete each task at their own pace and as many times as they wish”, Hustad says.
Handheld consoles are used to simulate the user’s hands.
“The students get both sound and image to ensure the situation is as realistic as possible”, Hustad says.
UiA has invested in 12 VR headsets – 6 for the nursing programme in Grimstad and 6 in Kristiansand.
The new tool will be a supplement to in-person teaching and simulation dummies.
Training using simulation dummies provides good learning outcomes for students, but it is resource intensive according to Hustad.
“The VR equipment is easy for students to use on their own, and they can run the training as many times as they wish”, Hustad says.
The project is called Medex VR – Clinical examination of patients. The work is an interdisciplinary collaboration between students and supervisors. In addition to the key figures, Dag Tomas Sagen Johannessen and Hustad, from the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Morgan Konnestad, Jostein Nordengen and Maurice Isabwe from the Faculty of Engineering and Science have also played a central role.
The project was started by Hustad with the funds he and Arne Leland received when they were awarded the Education Prize at UiA in 2017. Leland passed away before the prize was awarded. Hustad wanted to use the funds to develop a reasonable, user-friendly and portable tool for use in the nursing education.
In 2021, Hustad received funds from UiA’s programme for educational quality (PRUK) to complete the project.