IMMERSIVE LEARNING IN HEALTH SCIENCES: THE USE OF VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY

Abstract

The use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in health education is expanding as an innovative way to augment student learning and clinical preparation. These technologies create a realistic learning experience for students by allowing them to interact with virtual clinical environments, human anatomy, and procedures within a learning setting, and are now being used in various disciplines of medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and allied health. Virtual and Augmented Reality are useful to supplement anatomy learning, surgical skill training, patient rehabilitation, the acquisition of clinical reasoning and communication skills. These immersive learning methods improve student engagement, spatial cognition and user confidence, and lead to a better learner experience. VR and AR have several limitations including the cost, the availability of equipment and the level of faculty training required to utilize these techniques, but is a growing addition to the health sciences learning repertoire.