The Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Nursing Care Education Provided With Immersive Virtual Reality

Overview

Nursing education is composed of both theoretical and practical training that complement each other. The clinical practice environment for students is quite complex and practical applications are highly variable. Practical application areas do not offer effective and equal opportunities to meet the learning and application goals. There are also problems in theoretical education, and current teaching techniques cannot adequately support students' learning. In nursing education, it is recommended to use different teaching methods that strengthen students' skills. One of these methods is virtual reality simulation, which simulates real-life procedures. The investigators's aim in this project is to reveal the effect of the use of immersive virtual reality on the effectiveness of education in surgical nursing education through nursing care offered for a specific surgical procedure. With the laboratory setup, software tool(s), and the self-sufficient employees being able to use the software, via the capabilities gained through this project, it will be possible to carry out various types of virtual reality training activities by different departments of investigator's university without the need for out-sourcing. The investigators's advanced goal in this project is to transfer the nursing care specific to frequently applied surgical interventions to the immersive virtual reality environment.

This study uses the randomized controlled experiment method with pretest-posttest. The population of the study is the students taking surgical disease care courses (100-110 students per year). The required sample size was calculated by reviewing similar studies in the literature and using the G \* Power 3.1 program. It was decided that the sample would consist of 35 experimental and 35 control groups. The data collection forms (knowledge level, observed skills, and self-evaluation of clinical skill competence) were developed by the researchers based on the literature. In this study, there are 2 groups, experimental and control groups, and at the end of the study, investigators will observe all group members individually. At the beginning of the study, data collection forms will be completed in all groups. All participants will be asked to perform ostomy care on standardized patients. During this time, students' nursing skills will be observed individually. Colorectal surgery nursing care will be performed in an immersive virtual reality environment in the experimental group and on a practice manikin in the nursing skills laboratory in the control group. Participants in both the control and the virtual reality groups will be included in the debriefing. After the implementation participants will complete the data collection forms again. All participants will be asked to perform ostomy care on standardized patients. During this time, students' nursing skills will be observed individually. The quantitative data to be obtained will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The simulation scenario, which will be transferred to an immersive virtual environment, includes early and late postoperative care of a patient who underwent colorectal surgery. The research will begin in the second semester of the 2023-2024 academic year in the surgical nursing course after the completion of the data collection tools and will be completed in one academic year.