Enhancing healthcare emergency management training through virtual reality simulation

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Emergency Management
• Medical Simulation Technology
• Disaster Preparedness Training

Background:

• Healthcare systems face significant challenges in preparing for rare, high-risk, and complex disaster events.
• Effective training is crucial for improving response capabilities during mass casualty incidents (MCIs).
• Traditional training methods may not adequately prepare personnel for the complexities of large-scale emergencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the challenges in training healthcare systems for disaster response.
• To explore the application of virtual reality (VR) simulation in healthcare emergency management training.
• To outline the implementation of a VR-based mass casualty incident (MCI) triage training program.

Main Methods:

• A pilot education program was developed and implemented by a large healthcare organization.
• Virtual reality (VR) simulation was utilized for mass casualty incident (MCI) triage training.
• The study outlines practical steps for integrating VR simulation into existing training curricula.

Main Results:

• The pilot program demonstrated the feasibility of using VR simulation for MCI triage training.
• VR simulation provides an immersive and effective platform for practicing complex emergency scenarios.
• Implementation steps for broader adoption of VR in healthcare emergency training were identified.

Conclusions:

• Virtual reality (VR) simulation holds significant potential for enhancing healthcare emergency preparedness.
• Further research and development are needed to optimize VR applications in disaster response training.
• Integrating VR simulation into curricula can improve healthcare system resilience to major incidents.