Use of Virtual Reality Simulations to Embody a Patient: Exploring the Impact on Nursing Students' Confidence, Feelings, and Perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Using immersive virtual reality (VR), students are able to physically and emotionally embody patients while interacting in simulated environments with family and health care providers. PURPOSE: This pilot study explored how embodying patients with Alzheimer disease and terminal cancer at end of life using highly immersive VR impacted nursing students' confidence, feelings, and perceptions. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used with a convenience sample of bachelor of science in nursing students who completed pre/posttest scaled and open-ended questions. RESULTS: Participants (N = 32) reported significant confidence increases; feelings about dying and hospice were also significantly changed. The majority described how the simulations would impact their future nursing care. CONCLUSION: Using VR, students experienced disease, dying, and health care from the patient's perspective reporting differences in confidence, feelings, and perceptions. Immersive VR simulations warrant further study and have the potential to transform nursing education and impact health care.

Validation of the National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Survey as a Quality-of-Life Instrument for Patients with Malignant Brain Tumors and Their Caregivers.

At present there is a lack of well-validated surveys used to measure quality of life in patients with malignant brain tumors and their caregivers. The main objective of this pilot study was to validate the National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (NIH PROMIS) survey for use as a quality-of-life measure in this population. This article presents the rationale for using the NIH PROMIS instrument as a quality-of-life measure for patients with malignant brain tumors and their caregivers.