Virtual reality in education

Following the publication of the new standards for pre-registration nursing programmes, approved education institutions (AEIs) have been given more freedom to deliver courses in innovative ways, without being hindered by process requirements that restrict delivery (Leigh et al, 2019). Ultimately, we as academics have been tasked with preparing nursing students for the challenges of the 21st century and the traditional education curriculum design of classroom-based teaching can create barriers to learning. This freedom of innovation gives AEIs the chance to develop nurses who are prepared for the ever-changing environments of clinical practice.

Simulation has become a popular approach within nurse education and research has shown that simulation-based learning has strong educational effects, particularly within the psychomotor domain (Kim et al, 2016). Within the past couple of decades, huge technological advancements have provided realistic opportunities for simulation that are now more readily available, although this may encourage simulation-based education to become more of a fashion, possibly lacking in a pedagogical foundation.