Virtual reality and critical care education in nursing: A cross-sectional study

Background: The nursing care of a critically ill patient in the intensive care unit requires specific training. Virtual reality can facilitate the nursing assessment of critically ill patients.Objective: To evaluate the utility of virtual reality as a tool for teaching nursing assessment of critically ill patients.Design: This is a cross-sectional study.Setting: University of the Balearic Islands (Spain) during the 2022 academic year. Participants: Third-year nursing students.Methods: A specific environment was designed for virtual reality immersion using a BNEXT head-mounted display. Data were collected using three questionnaires: perception of self-efficacy regarding skill-acquisition in the nursing care process; immersivity; utility and tool satisfaction.Results: A total of 111 undergraduated nursing students responded, 86.8 % of whom had no previous intensive care units experience. They rated the virtual reality experience positively for learning the nursing care process, emphasising the need for skin and mucosal hygiene, patient mobilisation and family care, as well as an understanding of the therapeutic technology required. A total of 67.6 % felt as though they were physically present. They reported a high degree of acceptance and satisfaction.Conclusions: Virtual reality has facilitated the exposure of students to an unfamiliar environment such as the intensive care units, proving to be useful, satisfying, and motivating in teaching the nursing care process.