The Effects of Virtual Reality Simulation as a Teaching Strategy for Skills Preparation in Nursing Students

Background: Advancements in virtual reality simulation hold promise for new instructional strategies for basic nursing skills. Method: Virtual reality simulation was designed to support Foley catheter skill proficiency in students with an associate's degree in nursing. An after-only experimental design was used to evaluate skill performance scores, perceived preparation, and practice time in minutes. Results: Independent-samples t test revealed no statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups; however, mean differences revealed positive trends. Conclusion: Findings from this study support use of virtual reality simulation as a supplemental tool for teaching students critical steps in clinical skills such as the insertion of a Foley catheter. (C) 2015 International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.