West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Medical students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine ( WVSOM ) have a new method of learning patient scenarios , one that uses a headset and hand controllers in a virtual reality simulation .
WVSOM is the first medical school in the state to purchase SimX virtual reality medical simulation , according to Jenny Patton , WVSOM ’ s electronic health record manager , who helped bring the learning tool to the school .
“ Virtual reality cuts costs and enables distance learning . With SimX , instructors , learners and observers can work from different locations and join in virtual reality to work through the same cases using virtual patients ,” Patton says . “ Currently , SimX is the only system that also lets you run in-person multiplayer cases together in your simulation and communicate just as you would in real life .”
Patton said she is happy the school pulled the trigger on incorporating new tools into the curriculum .
“ Virtual reality simulation sets up anywhere , which means instructors can integrate it into lectures , small group sessions and even send students home with headsets so they can work together in multiplayer simulation scenarios facilitated by an instructor remotely ,” she says . “ The technology allows students to immerse themselves in the most realistic clinical environment possible .”
Faculty and students tested the technology at the school ’ s Clinical Evaluation Center , where simulation is at the forefront of medical education . Second-year student Andrew
Green participated in two different virtual reality demonstrations . He says the technology can present a realistic experience for how students should interact with patients .
“ Before we get out on rotations and are put more into real-life scenarios , this can give us additional practice ,” Green says .
With SimX technology , case scenarios run the gamut from routine clinic visits to multi-trauma cases and from basic assessments to postoperative ICU cases . More than 150 scenarios , more than 30 environments and more than 300 tools and procedures can be incorporated into the virtual reality technology , Patton says , providing students robust opportunities to learn to competently handle scenarios they could encounter as future physicians .
Photo by Pat Bauserman / WVSOM .
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