Virtual Reality Patient Encounters as a Strategy to Promote Interprofessional Education
Background:
Virtual reality (VR) simulation is an educational innovation which has been utilized to increase opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) experiences by addressing time and location limitations found with face to face IPE activities. This presentation addresses education innovation, use of virtual reality, and IPE for collaborative practice and education. Coordinating IPE across colleges and campuses was a problem encountered at a small midwestern rural college due to the pharmacy, nurse practitioner (NP), and physician assistant (PA) students being on different campuses and with different schedules. The aim of the project was to pilot a VR patient encounter and identify steps to successfully implement VR with interprofessional team members.
Methodology:
Pilot evaluation of a VR case, hardware, and debriefing was an initial step in a deliberate plan to implement it into IPE with NP, PA, and pharmacy students. The case selected reflected common health conditions which were encountered in primary care and amenable to an interprofessional team. NP students were selected for the pilot as faculty had grant funding and simulation center staff to support. Students were assigned pre-work. Faculty facilitators were assigned training. Debriefing focused on management of patient conditions and how other interprofessional team members could contribute to addressing the case.
Results:
Sixteen NP students completed the pilot evaluation with three faculty. Eighty percent of the students had little to no VR experience. Eighty-eight percent of the students noted that the VR scenario reflected actual clinical practice. Almost 90% of students reported completing the scenario increased their confidence and skills to care for a patient. Seventy percent of students recommended continuing to use VR cases and indicated feedback and debriefing was helpful. Faculty noted multiple practice gaps and identified opportunities to utilize the VR experience with interprofessional colleagues.
Conclusion:
VR can be utilized to help increase student learning and skills on and off campus. This pilot provided the necessary foundational steps to extend the learning to more student groups.
Reflections/Implications:
IPE students should receive an in person orientation and opportunity for troubleshooting with the VR headsets in advance. Provide clear instructions to the students about how they will move through the VR encounter. Continue close partnership with simulation center staff. Have the IPE students complete the VR case individually, then come together to complete debriefing and identify how other disciplines enhanced the care of the patient.
