iAdvance Senior Care (05/07/25) Cerulli, Paige

There is an acute shortage of nurses in the senior care industry. Virtual reality (VR) simulation has emerged as a tool that can enhance clinical readiness and increase access to education for nursing professionals. VR is an immersive platform that uses real-world clinical scenarios, says Christine Heid, a nursing simulation specialist at UbiSim. Using VR, nurses can gain confidence and skills while in a controlled environment, effectively connecting classroom instruction with firsthand clinical experience. "During training, learners are guided by their nurse educators and placed into realistic patient care environments where they can assess patients, make decisions, and take action — all in a safe space to learn and grow," Heid explains. VR also includes built-in feedback and support tools and the ability to customize scenarios to emphasize particular learning objectives or real-world challenges. A recent UbiSim report on nurse readiness found that 42% of nurses consider quitting in their first year, with many feeling unprepared to deal with real-world situations. "In senior care, nurses are often present during some of the most vulnerable and emotional moments of a person's life," Heid says. "With simulation, nurses can walk through these scenarios in advance — having practiced the hard conversations, the quiet comfort, the urgent decisions — so when they're needed most, they're not facing it for the first time." On-demand VR training enables nurses to review key skills, practice new procedures, and even prepare for high-stress scenarios while not actively in the situation, boosting their preparedness and confidence. Key to this training, Heid says, is giving nurses sufficient time and space to work with the VR platform, including becoming familiar with it and having the ability to repeat scenarios as desired. "It's also helpful to involve your staff early on — get feedback, create champions, and build buy-in," she says.

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