Nightingale College leverages VR to improve nursing skills acquisition
Removing geographical barriers to learning
Using virtual reality technology, Nightingale College is breaking down geographical barriers and delivering its engaging simulation model to learners across the country – including rural and underserved communities – across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. An increase in enrolment could help address nursing shortages in the US.
The challenge
As a nursing school with a geographically distributed learning delivery model, Nightingale College previously enrolled learners based on the proximity of available simulation labs. These live lab settings would often be limited to as few as 12 learners and physical capacity barriers remained. This often affected learners in rural communities, or those with full-time jobs and family responsibilities.
During the pandemic, Nightingale College went to a full distance learning model. The college leadership priority was to ensure that enrolled learners could continue progressing in the programme despite the limitations through COVID-mandated facility shutdown. The nursing school needed a solution that was immersive, flexible and available asynchronously.
About the company
Industry
WHY MR
Why Meta
Nightingale chose Meta Quest 3S for three reasons:
- Immersion: Full-colour Pass-through or full immersion on Meta Quest 3S means that learners can be fully immersed in the clinical experience or can choose a blended digital experience.
- Price point: The affordability of Meta Quest 3S meant that Nightingale could purchase enough headsets for more than 7,500 learners across an academic year.
- Partnership: Nightingale works with a Meta Quest distributor. Nightingale Education Group provides the artwork; its partner then adds branding to each headset, which is then packaged and dispatched to learners' homes.
Dr. Juliet Kolde,
President,
Nightingale Innovations
The solution
Nightingale leveraged VR learning by adapting its curriculum so that pre-licensure learners were no longer tethered to in-person simulation labs. Each new learner now receives a Meta Quest 3S headset as part of their learning resources delivered to their home for their first clinical course. Part of their tutorial week includes playing First Steps in VR Meta Quest headset, a game designed to help acclimate users to the VR environment.
Today, Nightingale's VR lessons are aligned to clinical concepts taught on a weekly basis throughout each semester. Learners are encouraged to practise training scenarios at home, before they complete a VR-graded assignment each week. This VR learning is supplemented by a clinical debrief with a faculty member, where students can ask questions and collaborate with peers. The debrief serves as a way to ensure that learners experience deep cognitive learning, supported by a clinical faculty member.
"We immediately saw that it was a better experience for learners and instructors", says Dr. Juliet Kolde, President of Nightingale Innovations, a division of the Nightingale Education Group. "The learner's experience and learning needs are more individualised, so their learning becomes more tailored based on performance."
More than 20,000 AI patient engagements each semester. The VR training scenarios include clinical skill lessons, such as administering medication and full head-to-toe assessments. Dr Nate Creer, Director, Academic & Innovative Technology at Nightingale Education Group, believes VR also helps build students' soft skills. "Learners are practising de-escalation and patient empathy skills – critical for the bedside", he says.
Dr. Nate Creer,
Director,
Academic & Innovative Technology at Nightingale Education Group