Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, is using virtual reality to teach nursing students how to respond during mass-casualty situations, the Standard-Examiner reported Aug. 10.
The technology allows students to experience mass-casualty events in a realistic way. Students use VR goggles and handheld controllers to take people's vital signs, open airways, stop bleeding and tag patients with various colors based on their injuries.
"This is really teaching them all about triage," London Draper Lowe, PhD, RN, professor of the Weber State's Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing who teaches the course, told the Standard-Examiner. "During a disaster, you're first taught to try to do the most good for the greatest number of people. When you have the goggles on, your brain is processing this as a real situation."
Weber State was one of the first nursing schools in the nation to launch a disaster course after 9/11. The goal is to prepare nursing students to work alongside first responders during disasters, ensuring they are confident in their skills and capable of providing assistance in various emergency situations.
"So far, we've had 100% positive feedback from our students," Dr. Lowe said. "We want our communities to know we have a lot of nurses who have received this training and they are being prepared to be ready to respond. We hope something like this never happens, but if it does, we want our nurses to be confident in knowing their skills and knowing how to help."