The COVID-19 pandemic without doubt ushered in the need to find different ways of practicing nursing away from the bedside. Healthcare workers, including nurses, have needed to adapt to the use virtual reality, other simulations, and virtual training to help make a way for nurses, and nursing students, to get the required information and skills to perform well. The COVID pandemic also caused a great deal of stress on nurses, and patients and families, as patient numbers rose. This also highlighted already existing staffing issues and caused many nurses into mandatory overtime. On top of this, the need for social distancing made required hands-on education and training extremely difficult. The use of virtual reality could be a source of relief and answer to some of the challenges nurses are now facing.
Increased patient numbers and extended hospital stays come with many challenges to nurses, with one of them being patient and nurse stress. Fear, anxiety, and even boredom can be a cause of decreased patience and emotional stability. Virtual reality in healthcare could be a source of relief to this problem. By using virtual reality as source of time management and entertainment, it can help prevent patient boredom. Using virtual reality to prevent patient boredom can make a nurse’s job a lot easier. When a patient is in a bed all day with little to occupy their time and mind, it could be argued this could cause an increase in patient agitation and depression. By giving the patient something to focus on that could increase their level of happiness, this could increase their level of patience and could redirect the desire to complain of environmental issues. These complaints, which are hard to address, can make being a nurse difficult. If virtual reality were used to prevent boredom, then it could make for a happier environment for both patients and nurses. Virtual reality can also dampen their mood if they feel they are addicted and are going through withdraw of the device and can also reduce their want to go out interact with other people.
Virtual reality has been used to treat phobia, anxiety disorders, PTSD, disability, and rehabilitation. Having VR devices being accessible to patients can be a good, fun way for them to get help. It is used to help relax people who are high stress, like people with anxiety or agitated.
Training for nursing requires a certain number of clinical hours. It can be difficult to go from classroom to bedside without feeling a little uneasy. Using virtual reality has been known to make 95% of students feel more confident at the bedside. If you walk onto the floor feeling timid and nervous, those feelings, even if contained within, could possibly be interpreted by the patient, making them feel nervous as well. Nurses need to be a consistent presence, even tempered, sympathetic and confident. This not only is beneficial to the nurse but also to the care of the patient. And since patient care and comfort are some of the most important things a nurse can provide, this amplifies the importance of training of nurses who are confident that what they are doing will be good for the patient.
Using virtual reality is a good way to offset the risks that come during training. It can be safer for the patient and nurse-in-training if the initial experience is not on a living patient. While there is great value in working with an actual patient, some of the things learned during training could prove to be dangerous, or even life threatening for the patient. For example, chemical experiments, or nursing procedures, could be practiced virtually before taken into a live setting. This would provide the students the freedom to make mistakes without any repercussions on human life. By using virtual reality as a mode of training, nurses can feel more confident as they carry the things they have learned into live settings. Because of the deeper understanding that could come with the use of VR, it could be assumed there would be a decrease in the stress that can be experienced during hands on scenarios. And there is no doubt that some nurses need to need to experience both to truly understand what they are learning and to give them a deeper understanding and more confidence in their actions.
This doesn’t mean that the use of VR doesn’t come without some potential negatives as well. Some of the cons for virtual reality include reduced face-to-face communications, additional educational costs, and user attitude. Having people who are being educated through virtual reality can limit their ability to develop the necessary communication between the patient and nurse. It can be hard to tell who can and can’t use virtual reality. Not only could it be challenging to nurses, but it can also present some challenges with patient care. According to PubMed Central “VR technology applications in medical education and treatment, especially psychiatric treatments need a comprehensive manual that specifies how, where, and for whom this technology is appropriate. Individual characteristics (gender, age, personality, and history of motion sickness) and other unique psychological, cognitive, physical, and functional characteristics that are common in a variety of clinical conditions are very important and should be considered.” Some patients are sensitive to the strap on their head or are scared to be put into an unknown “world”. It also can be apprehensive for them because of the potential side effects. Some patients may also be nervous to use new technology. If they are not familiar with what is being used it can make them resist the virtual reality.
Virtual reality should only be used if it is prescribed by the correct people. It could pose a risk if it used as a self-diagnosis, self-help, or self-treatment. PubMed Central goes on to say, “VR can cause problems in the cognitive organizations, human experiences, memories, judgments, beliefs, and distinguishing between themselves and the environment.” If the people are not using the devices properly or are not thriving with the treatment, the potential negative impacts could outweigh the positives. Additional side effects of virtual reality according to PubMed Central include Cybersickness and perceptuomotor after-effects. “In fact, the main concern for VR users is simulation sickness, or cybersickness.” And like many other side effects that come with screen or vision based technology, using VR can cause similar side effects of cybersickness. These include nausea, vomiting, eye fatigue, dizziness, and ataxia. It can make people feel as if they are drunk. All the symptoms depend on gender, attitude, or psychological differences which determine if they have symptoms and the severity of the symptoms. Misuse can lead to worsening of the symptoms (nausea, dizziness, etc.) The addiction to the VR can be the same as it is for video games or cellphones. The constant need to be using it.
Virtual reality could prove to be a wonderful asset to the nursing field if used correctly. Having the patients entertained and engaged with something could make for happier patients, which in turn could lead to an increase in job contentment for nurses. The significance of negative feelings on a nurse and their ability to care for patients when sad, angry, or overwhelmed cannot be understated. Nurses are hurting. And there is no doubt this is impacting patients, making it harder for them too. Also having confident nurses will create an environment patients feel more at ease and comfortable with the day-to-day tasks necessary for their care. Providing patients with the best care is arguably the number one priority, and that can begin from the place of having strong, confident, and joyful nurses.
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