A Virtual Care Unit for the Development of Clinical Monitoring Competencies in a Critical Care Setting: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Introduction: Virtual reality (VR) is a teaching method increasingly used to promote the acquisition of certain competencies by nursing students. One competency that can be developed with these tools is clinical judgement in the monitoring of critical care patients. Before incorporating this type of pedagogy into training initiatives for nurses, its acceptability and feasibility in nursing education programs must be validated. Purpose: This study describes the experience of nursing students who relied on UVS to develop clinical monitoring competencies in a critical care setting. Method: A qualitative descriptive design was used, and semi-structured interviews were held with 13 participants from three Quebec universities who underwent a VR experience requiring them to care for a hemodynamically unstable patient. Results: Participants identified 10 facilitating factors and nine hindering factors with regard to the use of UVS as a method for teaching students how to develop knowledge of clinical monitoring in a critical care setting. Conclusion: Use of VR in nursing education must consider both facilitating and hindering factors in order to foster positive student experiences and promote the method’s acceptance.