The United States continues to experience an intense shortage of health care workers, with the dearth of nurses, doctors and other medical professionals impacting the care of millions of Americans and drawing the attention of U.S. senators. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, for the month of March 2023, health care added 34,000 jobs, lower than the average monthly gain of 54,000 over the prior six months.
Last year, the American Hospital Association described the talent shortage at the nation’s hospitals as a “national emergency,” with the lack of qualified nurses especially troubling. Research shows that in hospitals struggling with nursing shortages nurses experience higher burnout and job dissatisfaction, and patients experience higher mortality rates as a result.
We must first increase the number of nursing students to increase the number of nurses, but since the start of the pandemic, nursing student enrollment numbers in community colleges have also fallen. A recent study examining nursing shortages in Oregon found there are still plenty of qualified applicants looking to become nurses. However, the difficulty lies in finding enough resources to actually train them.
Health care programs struggle to hire and retain faculty, provide clinical placement opportunities and update and expand their facilities. Newer technologies can increasingly be utilized in the academic setting to lessen the strain on limited educational resources, albeit virtually: the metaverse.
Simulation is the future of education
Like it or not, the metaverse is already exerting a profound influence on the daily experience of workers and learners. By 2026, one-quarter of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, commerce, education and entertainment, according to a forecast from research firm Gartner.
From career exploration to cutting-edge career development, the immersive technologies that undergird the metaverse are dramatically changing how we teach and learn new skills in today’s fast-changing world of work.
My nursing career began during the Vietnam War, caring for wounded military personnel at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. Over the following decades, I have worked as a bedside nurse, researcher and educator, and have held several deanship positions at nursing schools. Throughout, I’ve learned that the leadership and community aspects of nursing are paramount.
Meeting patients where they are — providing them with the sensitivity and care they need no matter what resources are available — is central to what nurses do. The types of simulations made possible through immersive technologies support the teaching of these important lessons, as well as the critical hands-on skills that all nurses must have at their disposal.
Immersive learning technologies will only grow in the years ahead, especially as state and education leaders work to find novel ways to address the health care shortage. More than 30 states have passed laws allowing nursing schools to use simulations as part of required clinical training hours for nursing licensing exams. Historically, these simulations have been limited to physical labs outfitted with variations on the traditional CPR manikin. Immersive technologies, however, are now providing more robust, personalized and responsive programs.
Indeed, virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies are quickly emerging as standardized modes of instruction for health care education. Health care educators are beginning to use these technologies to simulate on-the-job experiences and complex daily social and patient interactions. Even in fields as complex as nursing and community health, immersive learning offers opportunities to replicate the clinical, interpersonal and decision-making dynamics required in the modern health care workplace.
A modern healthcare method
In 2020, National University became one of the initial five institutions that received funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to advance virtual reality (VR) as a teaching tool. VR allows students to safely learn important techniques and procedures, including listening to the sounds of patients’ lungs and obtaining blood pressure readings.
Additionally, VR technology allows students to take a virtual stroll around underserved neighborhoods, interacting with digital residents who might need care. Within this immersive setting, students can visit churches and organizations to learn more about the community and which local resources can assist. Students then work to design a program plan to help the underserved virtual residents they meet in the simulated setting.
Simulation experience closely approximates the real-world environment, helping students understand what different communities may need in a safe environment and avoiding exposure to unnecessary risks.
Immersive learning experiences can augment traditional methods of health care education. They can also expand new horizons for providing clinical practicum opportunities and theoretical instruction. The metaverse will not only help train more nurses amid our ongoing shortage but significantly improve the quality of care provided, permitting students unlimited opportunities to practice as many times as needed to achieve skill mastery.
This grant project referenced in this article is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U4EHP39474, the Nurse Education Practice Quality Retention Simulation Education Training Program for $500,000, for which 38 percent was financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
