What if you are the first to encounter a patient experiencing a life-threatening emergency or you are having to lead a team in the care of a patient, and you have never been in either of those situations? What if you could prepare for those situations and be successful in a “lower-stakes” environment? That is how virtual reality (VR) is changing health care.   

Virtual reality (VR) in health care involves the use of computer-generated environments to simulate real-life situations for medical training, therapy and patient engagement. It can be applied for surgical simulations, pain management, exposure therapy and enhancing medical education by providing immersive experiences for practitioners and patients. VR technology can revolutionize health care by improving training, treatment outcomes and patient experiences.

Oculus Quest 2 devices are available for independent study in the virtual reality lab or on loan for use outside of the lab. 

I learned a lot in the VR world and was given enough space to practice different scenarios. I felt like it showed me my deficiencies that I wasn’t aware of until I was actually in that scenario. I also felt like I was emotionally involved in the scenarios because of the setup and feeling that I was really in it. I think it’s a great educational tool and hope that we get to use it more.

– VR Learner