technology
The nurse will
see you now
New technology is allowing
nursing students to interact
with holographic patients in
a range of clinical scenarios.
Jane Frost interviewed
by Dallas Bastian
L
uke Skywalker did it. Will.i.am did it. Now nursing students
from the University of Canberra are exploring the use of
hologram technology.
Assistant professors of nursing Jane Frost and Lori Delaney, and
Professor Robert Fitzgerald, have introduced the HoloLens into
university classrooms.
Using inbuilt video cameras, the Microsoft device can scan a
room and use the environment to anchor a range of holographic
images, videos and interactive elements.
Global education company Pearson provided the university with
access to its HoloPatient app, which allows educators to access
virtual, standardised patients that can be downloaded and placed
in any environment via the HoloLens.
The combination of technologies allows students to interact
with holographic patients and explore complex scenarios.
Frost says the technology is not a replacement for face-to-face
patient interaction, rather it augments what educators are already
doing and brings case studies to life.
“By adding in change, you increase the engagement for the
students,” Frost says. “They get a new experience.”
Using a holographic patient that displays various symptoms
and behaviours allows students to learn assessment and clinical
reasoning skills, she adds.
“Being able to walk around the hologram and view the patient
from 360 degrees gives an added dimension to the experience.
28 | nursingreview.com.au
“We believe this new technology has the capacity to engage
learners and increase their understanding. Ultimately, it will benefit
patient care.”
Nursing Review spoke with Frost about the scenarios that
students have explored using the technology and its potential
future applications.
NR: What does the initiative involve for educators when setting
up the lessons, and for the students?
JF: The HoloPatient application produces a hologram of a patient.
The company that developed it, Pearson, calls it a simulated patient.
It is filmed from a real person, an actor, who is demonstrating a
condition. You can use the application for assessment.
At the moment, the hologram is an image that you can play a
video for, so there is some movement, but there is no interaction.
You can’t talk to the hologram, and you can’t physically touch it.
But actually this is quite a unique way of teaching students
to assess a patient and really focus on the skills of noticing the
appearance of a patient – being able to find subtle cues by looking
at a patient.
I think a lot of students tend to want to jump in really quickly
and take observations and do things for a patient, but actually
having this technology and giving the students time to immerse
themselves in what is happening physically for the patient allows
them to understand how important it is to know these things
about a patient.
What scenarios have you explored with students?
Currently there are two different scenarios. One is based on an
allergic reaction, and the other is based on COPD.
So, there are two holographic images, and you can play
a short clip from each. Each has three clips you can choose
from in which the patient deteriorates and displays increasingly
deteriorating symptoms.