Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh has developed a virtual reality (VR) programme for training paramedics to deal with maternity emergencies.
It said the development, which uses hand tracking and a VR headset, is creating an immersive learning experience to help paramedic students strengthen their decision making when dealing with relevant scenarios.
The university has begun to use the package on its BSc Paramedic Science course.
The software creates an environment within the headset – relatively normal or challenging – that any paramedic could face. It enables lecturers to lead students through a simulation such as in the bedroom of a flat where a young woman is suffering labour complications.
Students can interact with patients by observing, asking questions, using equipment and processing information in a virtual situation. They have the chance to make mistakes, learn to navigate situations and correct their actions in a safe space.
The university said the VR scenarios makes the students better equipped to move into their real life placements with professional paramedic teams.
Improving safety
Alexander Williams, paramedic lecturer at Queen Margaret University, said: “It helps to improve the learning experience and patient safety.
“By supporting students through different patient scenarios, we are allowing them to learn at a pace that’s right for them and to build their understanding of different environments that paramedics work in. They also get to feel the stress that can be involved in certain situations, but to experience that in the safety of the virtual classroom."
Williams was involved in the development of the package with Virtual Reality Empathy Platform, software developer Visual Lane, Age Concern and Age Scotland, as well as IT staff, administrators and health technicians at the university.
He added: “While VR is now used in some areas of education, this is the first VR programme which focuses on real time decision making in relation to maternity complications, rather than just skills development.”
It added that it has also produced a VR learning package focused on dementia.
