January 12, 2022

Introducing Clinic Immersives by Purdue University Global: 'A game changer' for health care students and practitioners

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Having found virtual reality learning to be successful for its students, the Purdue University Global School of Nursing now is making its immersive learning technology available to other organizations.

Clinic Immersives by Purdue University Global is a joint venture between the Purdue Global School of Nursing and inciteVR, a company that specializes in the production of immersive learning products for higher education and professional training.

Representatives of Purdue Global and inciteVR will present Clinic Immersives at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, scheduled for Jan. 15-19 in Los Angeles.

The innovative technology is designed for health care students in higher education as well as those practitioners in clinical practice.

“This dynamic shift in learning is a game changer for both learners and providers across the globe, affording access to cutting-edge technology from the comfort of one’s own learning environment, while allowing users to practice skills with real-time feedback,” said Melissa Burdi, Purdue Global vice president and dean of the School of Nursing.

The virtual reality modules, augmented by artificial intelligence, allow health care students and providers to acquire greater confidence and enhanced precision with hands-on skills – using an Oculus Quest headset with unlimited access anywhere, anytime. Labs are accessed through a Cloud-based system that provides application control, headset control, learner progress monitoring and rich analytics reporting of learning outcomes.

“inciteVR is proud to join Purdue University Global in this publishing partnership to bring immersive clinical skills training to nursing education,” inciteVR CEO Jim Kiggens said. “It has been an exciting opportunity to work alongside Purdue Global in their ascension as the innovation leader in immersive clinical skills training. Their full commitment to the design, development, implementation, support and evaluation process has resulted in award-winning successes and significant efficacy data that is informing the immersive learning transformation in their programs.”

Engaging in immersive learning through the use of VR increases learner confidence and skill acquisition through a specific learning sequence and fosters patient safety in the clinical environment by reducing errors at the point of care.

“Using virtual reality for skill competency also allows for a standardized approach to best practice of skill acquisition,” said Abbey Elliott, national senior manager of simulation for the Purdue Global School of Nursing.

Features of Clinic Immersives include:

* Guided Mode – ghosted hints show step-by-step positions; learner can “see through” the patient to verify placement.

* Oculus Quest Hand Tracking – learner uses natural hand movements to interact; it is not necessary to memorize buttons and controls.

* Oculus Quest Affordability and Ease of Use – next-generation game development processes allow the untethered, mobile VR to present effective visual and interaction fidelity at one-fourth the cost of desktop VR.

* Physiology Engine – real-world patient and case data informs the simulation.

* Feedback – Cloud-based enterprise incorporates real-time data acquisition that allows learner to track progress and mastery, and provides detailed insights for debrief with faculty.

* Support – enterprise incorporates knowledge base (with tutorial videos and FAQs), combined with help desk support staff for learners and staff.

Immersive training (virtual reality) is a paradigm shift that is underway in health care, where leading research shows that learners acquire clinical skills more rapidly, with fewer errors, and retain learned skills longer through immersive learning experiences.

Over the last two years, Purdue Global School of Nursing has emerged as an industry leader in using virtual reality and immersive learning technologies to help students develop skills in virtual settings, preparing them for real-world clinical practice.

The use of VR offers expanded access to critical education, focusing on the hard and soft skills necessary in health care practice with increased flexibility for students to learn on their own schedule. In this way, incorporating VR in clinical education helps to combat the shortage and constraints felt across numerous disciplines within healthcare.

About Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of adults who have work or life experience beyond the classroom, enabling them to develop essential academic and professional skills with the support and flexibility they need to achieve their career goals. It offers personalized paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations – no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue University’s flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest Indiana, as well as serving science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. For more information, visit purdueglobal.edu.

About inciteVR

With offices in California and Portugal, inciteVR is an award-winning learning company that publishes immersive learning experiences for higher education and professional education. We are passionate about our core mission of meeting the individualized needs of the learner through our immersive learning experience solutions. 

Media Contact: Tom Schott, 765-427-1721, tschott@purdue.edu

Sources: Melissa Burdi

Abbey Elliott

Jim Kiggens

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