In a groundbreaking collaboration, Wolters Kluwer Health and Laerdal Medical have launched vrClinicals for Nursing, a cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) learning solution aimed at preparing the next generation of practice-ready nurses. This innovative platform addresses the existing gaps in nursing education and the nursing workforce by immersing students in realistic multi-patient scenarios.
After months of collaboration with top university nursing programs in the United States, vrClinicals for Nursing is now ready to revolutionize the way nursing education is approached. By seamlessly transitioning students from the classroom to a bustling hospital ward, this VR-based solution presents them with true-to-life challenges, such as managing care among multiple patients and coping with the demands of real-world practice.
The development of vrClinicals for Nursing involved close collaboration with instructors and students from twelve leading nursing programs, alongside the expertise of Laerdal Medical and the National League for Nursing (NLN), which provided evolving multi-patient scenarios. Together, these organizations have achieved their shared vision of introducing the benefits of VR to nursing education, surpassing the inherent limitations faced in real-life clinical practice.
Several esteemed nursing schools participated as testers for vrClinicals for Nursing, including Villanova University, Indiana University, University of Rochester, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Central Florida, and University of Virginia, among others.
The urgency to reduce dissatisfaction stemming from unpreparedness among new nurses is another crucial driver behind vrClinicals for Nursing. A recent study revealed that 55% of new nurses have made medical errors due to inexperience and time pressure, among other reasons. The lack of adequate skills to recover and build resilience has contributed to high dissatisfaction among young nursing professionals, with nearly one-third (32.8%) leaving their job within the first year. By using VR, nursing students can now develop and practice the skill sets required to make critical decisions in a busy hospital environment, prioritize multiple patients, and manage competing care demands. These new technologies also enable scalability previously unattainable for nursing schools, allowing entire cohorts of students to engage in multi-patient scenarios and receive immediate feedback from their instructors.
In addition to facilitating the transition from education to practice, vrClinicals for Nursing also prepares students for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX®), the mandatory adaptive test for nursing graduates seeking licensure as Registered Nurses. Starting this year, the Next Generation NCLEX® exam evaluates not only the knowledge of students but also their ability to demonstrate clinical judgment when responding to clinical questions, similar to the demands of real-world nursing practice.
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