Clinical Experience, Virtually

A Checklist for Getting Started with VR Simulation

With clinical experience becoming increasingly scarce, more schools are turning to immersive virtual options to supplement their curriculum.

This article provides a checklist for implementing virtual simulations with Acadicus.

 

As simulation expands into the digital realm, it exponentially increases capabilities. Students can engage in high-fidelity simulations with animated patients and immersive environments that can greatly increase realism.

These new opportunities are rapidly changing the role of the physical sim lab. Instead of replacing it, Acadicus is designed as a massive addition to it, packed with the virtual equivalent of millions of dollars worth of environments, patients, equipment, anatomy models, scene templates, expert demonstrations, and more.

virtual simulation geriatric patient
multiplayer neonatal virtual reality simulation
teenage patient VR simulation

Here’s How it Works

A private room in Acadicus is a $20,000 per year subscription that unlocks access to all of Acadicus’ features and content. There’s no additional cost per user, no limits to how often you can use it, and no charge to access the content library. Everything is included with your subscription.

Multiple participants can join your private room in Acadicus with a passcode, much like joining a Zoom call. They can join from any location – seeing, hearing, and interacting within the virtual scene.

Here are several things to consider as you prepare to implement virtual simulation in your program.

live remote virtual standardized patient for virtual simulation
nursing simulation with students in virtual reality
testimonials vr acadicus

Prepare Your Hardware

This will be different for every school, but it’s important to set aside some time to get your virtual simulation equipment set up and tested ahead of time. You can get started with just one PC without a VR headset to access simulation in Non-VR mode, or set up a VR lab with multiple PCs and VR headsets to run multiplayer immersive simulations. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Is your PC compatible? Check our hardware requirements here (link).
  • Is your PC connected directly to the internet via ethernet cable (vs. less stable wifi)?
  • Do you have an adequate play area for each VR station? We recommend no less than 6 feet by 6 feet area per station, but more is better.
  • Is the VR headset fully configured? For example, Oculus requires the setup of a ‘Guardian’ play area (link). This will need to be established the first time your system is used in a new location.
virtual human anatomy visualization
multiplayer virtual simulation ecg lead placement
ACLS in virtual reality 3D recording

Build Momentum

Getting a successful virtual simulation program started depends entirely on faculty adoption. Without an enthusiastic evangelist to pave the way, it can be challenging to get others engaged. To help build momentum, it can be helpful to establish VR office hours, or have a VR open house where students and faculty can try it out beyond the limits of a specific curriculum or set of learning objectives.

virtual wound treatment simulation
ER for nursing simulation clinicals
virtual nursing simulation

Define Your Goals

Once you’ve identified courses and faculty that would be a good fit for introducing virtual simulation, the next step is defining which activities are best suited to their objectives. Acadicus comes with a wide variety of content that can be useful across a range of topics. For example, anatomy and physiology courses can make use of the skull, skeletal, and muscular anatomy sims in Acadicus. Nursing courses can engage in live interactions with simulated patients. EMS students would certainly benefit from participating in dynamic cardiology / ACLS simulations. If you’d like to create a custom simulation, contact us to begin the development of a Simulation Plan. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination, and there’s something for everyone.

Virtual simulation for EMS
instructor of virtual simulation
EMS virtual simulation

Train Your Facilitators

Acadicus comes with 3 training sessions to help get your faculty and facilitators up to speed. If you haven’t already scheduled and completed your training, please contact us to get started! This will give you the info and hands-on experience you need to successfully implement virtual simulation.

Additionally, if you plan to have someone playing the role of a patient for a live simulation, get them trained on using the Simulation Manager to choreograph the learning experience.

virtual nursing simulation geriatric chd patient
instructor of virtual simulation
EMS virtual simulation

Gather Feedback

After implementing your first virtual simulation, it’s important to gather feedback. This can be as simple as talking with students and faculty about how the simulation went or asking them to take a brief survey. This information can be used to improve and refine your program over time.

We hope this article provided some ideas for how you can be prepared for the fall semester. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at support@acadicus.freshdesk.com.

 

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Additional Resources

Capabilities

Capabilities

Learn more about Acadicus’ features including Simulation Manager, Scene Editing, 3D Recording, and Multiplayer

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Pediatric Simulation

Pediatric Simulation

Virtual pediatric simulation content includes patients, equipment, preconfigured scene templates, audio effects, and more.

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EMS Simulation

EMS Simulation

Acadicus comes with a library of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) simulation templates, patients, equipment, and environments.

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Virtual Human Anatomy

Virtual Human Anatomy

These 3D virtual anatomy assets and more are available in Acadicus and can be used to create immersive virtual healthcare education experiences.

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ECG Simulator

ECG Simulator

This content pack contains everything needed to conduct ECG lead placement training through virtual simulation. Accessible in VR or non-VR.

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Respiratory Therapy

Respiratory Therapy

The Respiratory Therapy asset pack includes an elderly patient, various oxygen adjuncts, and interactive oxygen flow meter.

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Characters

Characters

Acadicus comes with a library of characters that can be used to stage a wide variety of simulation scenarios that can be manipulated with Sim Manager.

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Environments

Environments

Within the environment, characters, equipment and other assets can be added to the scene depending on the scenario.

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3D Recording Tool

3D Recording Tool

The 3D Recording Tool allows instructors to capture and share their demonstrations and lectures. 3D recordings can be played back anytime, from anywhere.

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Madison, WI

info@acadicus.com