Effects of Virtual Reality Simulation on Practice of the Nursing Care Process: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Technology
• Nursing Simulation
• Virtual Reality in Healthcare

Background:

• The nursing process is a foundational skill for registered nurses.
• Traditional teaching methods may not fully prepare nursing students for complex clinical scenarios.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers immersive learning experiences for healthcare education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of 360-degree video-based virtual reality simulation in improving nursing students' competency in the nursing process.
• To compare learning outcomes between nursing students using VR simulation and those using text-based materials.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter randomized controlled trial involving 62 nursing students.
• Experimental group used Oculus Quest 2 for VR simulation of a pulmonary thromboembolism scenario.
• Control group reviewed the same scenario using text-based materials; outcomes assessed via pre/posttests and documentation quality evaluation.

Main Results:

• The VR group demonstrated significantly higher quality in nursing process documentation.
• Nursing students in the VR group reported significantly greater learning satisfaction.
• No significant differences were found in engagement, confidence, or preparedness between groups.

Conclusions:

• 360-degree video-based VR simulation effectively supports nursing students' learning of the nursing process, particularly documentation quality.
• Future research should integrate active learner participation and structured feedback into VR simulations to enhance outcomes.
• VR simulation shows promise as a valuable tool in nursing education for improving clinical skill acquisition.