Nov 12, 2021
Grounded in the science of caring, Humboldt State University’s RN-BSN program prepares nurses to become community leaders as they face a changing healthcare landscape and the complex needs of the North Coast’s rural population. To expand on the program’s core curriculum, HSU is working with Embodied Labs, an immersive training platform, to add an element of virtual reality–or more aptly, someone else’s reality–to students’ education.
Nursing students use virtual reality to learn. A pillar of HSU’s Nursing program is its holistic approach to patient-centered care, which prioritizes empathy and cultural humility in every interaction. It’s a value that cannot be easily taught, explains HSU Director of Nursing Kimberly Perris. This is where virtual reality (VR) technology can deliver an outsized impact.
Perris first learned about Embodied Labs from faculty at CSU Channel Islands, the first CSU campus to champion Embodied Labs VR experiences as a teaching tool for nurses. With the goal of helping nurses understand the lived experience of their patients and co-workers, Embodied Labs created six simulations in which students, donning a VR headset, virtually “embody” a patient or caregiver facing a myriad of socio-emotional and medical challenges. The simulations translate seamlessly to virtual learning, says Perris, even giving some students the necessary emotional space to absorb the experiences.
In one immersive simulation, the user embodies Hazel, a 75-year-old woman living in a senior community. Hazel has mobility issues and uses a wheelchair. As the student user navigates Hazel’s everyday life, they experience the frustration and anxiety of relying on others for activities of daily living. With each scenario serving a specific learning outcome, this one helps nurses find ways to preserve patients’ dignity through patient-centered, collaborative problem solving.
Another Embodied Labs simulation brings to light the perspective of a transgender patient named Eden. Transgender youth and adults can face elevated, even extreme, stigma in healthcare settings, negatively compounding their health and wellness. By embodying Eden, student users witness, and even feel, the experience of being an LGBQT adult as they navigate challenges with family, healthcare, and housing.
“These simulations are incredibly impactful for our students,” says Perris.
When she first tried VR for herself, Perris embodied Alfred, an aging African-American man who had declining vision and hearing loss. “I was watching the reactions of his family at the dinner table. There was an incident when Alfred spilled a glass of wine. I could …….