University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program pilots virtual reality clinical tool

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program is piloting a new clinical training tool: a virtual reality headset. The virtual reality headset will immerse students in two clinical training simulations focused on maternal-newborn and pediatric care, providing the accelerated courses with more opportunities for hands-on clinical training.

According to an article on the University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s website, Assistant Professor of Practice Savannah Kelley was quoted as saying of the new technology, “One of the biggest factors with us, especially in the accelerated program, is that we’re limited on time. The students have a year to complete all of their clinicals and experiences before they’re licensed. And we really want our students to be able to feel confident going into the clinical setting and have as many hands-on experiences as they can.”

The use of the virtual reality simulation tools was made possible by a High Impact Practices Grant from the UTC Walker Center for Teaching and Learning. The grant provides $1,980 in UbiSim student licenses for use by 20 second-semester accelerated nursing students enrolled in NURS 3155, Maternal-Newborn Clinical, and NURS 3165, Pediatric Clinical. The goal of the virtual reality tool is to open up more possibilities for students in the accelerated nursing classes to get practice in clinical settings on the shortened timespan allowed by the accelerated courses. The goal is not to replace real hands-on practice, but to supplement those genuine experiences with additional practice opportunities.

It also allows all students to have the same opportunities. Kelley said, “Yesterday, two students were able to see a C-section. Two students were able to give a specific medication or practice a specific nursing skill like an IV placement, but not all the students can do that. With this VR sim, we can do that. They all have the same experience.”

The university’s ASBN program requires 59 credit hours over three semesters. Twenty-one of those credit hours are dedicated to learning in hands-on clinical settings. 

Program Lecturer Katie Parker explained of the accelerated program, “We have the same clinical requirements as the traditional. It’s not that we’re doing less clinical hours. We just do them in less time.”

The virtual reality simulations provide more opportunities for students to accomplish their clinical requirements. Parker noted that traditional practice would require a faculty member to be present with groups of students as they work through their simulation, but the virtual reality simulations allow for more flexibility.

She said, “This can happen kind of asynchronously, which works well in the rapidity of this program. This allows for a bit more flexibility within the somewhat inflexible schedule they have.”

Kelley and Parker noted that the virtual reality technology is realistic to what nurses will experience in the field.

Parker said, “You can’t give a medicine until you scan their armband and confirm the patient and then scan the medication and all the things. They don’t have muscle memory to do all these things by habit. Every time they recreate that pathway of doing the things in the proper order, doing a proper procedure, that helps ingrain that in their brain. The IV medication, when it’s running, you can actually see it dripping. You can see the pump running. You can feel their pulses. You can hear their heartbeat.”

Kelley added, “You can shine a pen light into the patient’s eye and it responds like we do in a real assessment. Ultimately these students are going to be nurses, and this is such a practice-based profession.”

Dr. Kristen Singletary, who serves as a clinical associate professor and the ABSN program director, is excited about the new technology. She said, “I love the opportunity for them to get to try new things and explore ways to bring clinical judgment to our students. We’re committed to the growth of the ABSN program, enrolling more students, turning out more nurses, and as we do that, that comes with less clinical site availability. So we’re just trying to find ways to supplement clinical hours and to teach our students clinical judgment in a safe environment.”

Singletary also noted the timing of adopting this technology is perfect with the College of Nursing’s new Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building opening in 2027. The new facility will have a designated room for VR simulation. 

If the pilot program this summer goes well, the UbiSim licensing could eventually be built into future ABSN program fees. As part of the grant project, faculty members will collect and analyze outcome data through UbiSim’s AI Narrative Analysis and present the findings at the Walker Center grant symposium in the fall. 

For more information about the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, visit the school’s website.