Virtual reality with artificial intelligence-led scenarios in nursing education: a project evaluation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Artificial Intelligence Applications

Background:

• Pre-registration nursing students require effective training in holistic patient assessment.
• Virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) offer innovative pedagogical tools for healthcare education.
• Evaluating student experiences with different VR-AI interfaces is crucial for optimizing educational strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate pre-registration nursing students' experiences with VR simulations for patient assessment.
• To compare the effectiveness of menu-based versus AI voice-controlled VR interfaces.
• To identify optimal uses of VR-AI technology in nursing curricula.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving eleven pre-registration adult nursing students from two UK universities.
• Purposeful sampling to select participants for VR simulations.
• Thematic analysis of data from three audio-recorded focus group sessions.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged: technological literacy, VR as a learning tool, the learning journey, and transition to independence.
• Both VR-AI interaction methods presented unique advantages and challenges.
• Students found voice-controlled VR more intuitive, while menu-based VR offered more structure.

Conclusions:

• VR with AI-led patients positively contributes to nursing education by providing safe, problem-based learning experiences.
• Both menu-based and voice-controlled VR are valuable for developing holistic patient assessment skills.
• The choice of VR interface impacts student perception of intuitiveness and structure in learning.