Imagining the Future:
There are many trends affecting the use of educational technology especially in nursing and health care. Technology is part of patient care from the operating room to the bedside. Education has yet to keep up with the technology therefore any aspect of technology will be and is affecting the educational setting. In the near future gaming and virtual reality environments are going to be added into the simulation area of nursing. The high fidelity and low fidelity simulation mannequins are going to be combined with virtual communities and neighborhoods as well as virtual collaboration opportunities for learning and teaching.
Gaming and virtual reality educational programs
In nursing education I would like to see gamification added into the simulation research and utilized as credit for clinical time. Gaming and virtual worlds are becoming a topic of discussion in education. One study using a virtual neighborhood in nursing programs describes the virtual program to be effective regardless of learning styles and as diversity increases in the student body multimodal approaches to education may be helpful to the success of the student (Fogg, Carlson-Sabelli, Carlson, & Giddens, 2013). My thoughts about the usefulness of these virtual reality games and technology is comparable to what the airline industry uses for flight simulation. The same safety aspects are built in through simulation and how much more would this apply in a virtual world for nursing such as running a code blue. An interesting idea. There are already some virtual clinical type programs available such as VitalSims by ClinicalCare. http://vitalsims.com/clinicalcare/ I expect these types of programs added to current didactic and simulation to be prevalent in most if not all nursing programs in the near future.
Inter-professional collaboration through a virtual environment
Inter-professional collaboration is taught in the nursing classroom today and sometimes this concept is not easily translated from the concept to application. Virtual collaboration may be a way to allow students to gain experience and be better prepared at the bedside. In a curriculum case report, students who learned triage and practiced disaster preparedness through a virtual environment and taught other disciplines gained enhanced knowledge and skills (Nicely & Farra, 2015). The virtual environment has vast opportunities for learning and creating scenarios that reflect actual practice in hospital environments, rural environments, community environments and disaster planning management.
Simulation is commonplace in nearly every nursing school today and if we limit our learning to simulation via mannequins (high or low fidelity), we are doing a disservice to our students and our patients. Expanding the opportunities technology has to offer is a prudent step in the future of nursing education.
Nicely, S., & Farra, S. (2015). Fostering Learning Through Interprofessional Virtual Reality Simulation Development. Nursing Education Perspectives, 36(5), 335-336 2p. doi:10.5480/13-1240
Fogg, L., Carlson-Sabelli, L., Carlson, K., & Giddens, J. (2013). The Perceived Benefits of a Virtual Community: Effects of Learning Style, Race, Ethnicity, and Frequency of Use on Nursing Students. Nursing Education Perspectives, 34(6), 390-394 5p. doi:10.5480/11-526.1
I was interested in your information on 'inter-professional collaboration through a virtual environment. In selling hospital equipment to hospitals, we used the "TRAIN THE TRAINER" program a Long Time before it was used by nurses in the hospital. The pharmaceutical company would train us to go into the hospital setting. WE would select nurses from all shifts and all areas to train in order for those people to train the nurses who worked in their respective clinical areas.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience, I can tell you that my learning was GREATLY enhanced by teaching others. The questions that were posed were more educational than the formal training I received from the company. Training the trainers greatly enhanced my knowledge and skills. Much like the virtual environment you describe in your post. Thank you. Beckie
The interprofessional collaboration is excellent. I Skyped with Dr Mahmoud before she ever moved to Oklahoma. She collaborated with me to provide a discussion on curriculum design.
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