Approach to Scenario Development for Virtual Simulation

Introduction

Virtual simulation engages the learner in using 3D computer generated models representing patients, hospital settings or other healthcare providers as educational tools to support the delivery of realistic clinical scenarios guided by specified learning objectives. Over the years, computer-generated environments have evolved, becoming more accessible through the advances of technology and have been intensely evaluated for effectiveness (Kaplan et al., 2020). Virtual simulations are now used to support healthcare training in a wide range of specialties including emergency medicine, anesthesia, nursing and pediatrics (Lopreiato & Sawyer, 2015; Padilha, Machado, Ribeiro, Ramos, & Costa, 2019; Wang et al., 2008; Weinger et al., 2017). The history of virtual simulation has been traced in Chapter 1 titled “Introduction to simulation in the healthcare professions”.

Standardized virtual patients have been developed with various features to represent adult, juvenile and even newborn patients (Combs & Combs, 2019; Isaza-Restrepo, Gómez, Cifuentes, & Argüello, 2018; Kononowicz et al., 2019; Peddle, McKenna, Bearman, & Nestel, 2019). In the same way that actual manikins can have their appearances altered, the appearance of the virtual patient can be altered by the designer to have a variety of skin hues and tones, which are then matched to the proper patient attributes in the scenario. In addition, the virtual patient may be easily adjusted to display a range of emotions, and its look can be modified to depict someone who is elderly or fat, and it can be dressed in a manner that is appropriate for the scenario to give the learner a sense of realism (Motz et al., 2018; Sweigart & Hodson-Carlton, 2013). Additionally, members of the family can be inserted into the scenario with relative ease. For instance, a woman of mixed race and middle age may be seen accompanying a young Hispanic man who is either clad in a hospital gown and positioned on a hospital bed for a scenario set in a hospital or dressed in street clothes and placed on a stretcher for a scenario set in a trauma center or emergency room.

Monitors that provide realistic vital signs and physiologic responses are something that can be included in virtual simulations. Learners have the opportunity to study the steps of procedures such as conducting chest tube installation, acquiring vascular access, and neonatal resuscitation. Those learning ultrasound procedures have been able to benefit from the usage of augmented reality ultrasound simulators (Tolsgaard et al., 2015). Augmented reality capabilities have been added to birthing simulators, allowing the unborn child to be observed while still inside the mother's uterus. Learners can be guided through the performance of a variety of surgical and trauma operations with the help of telescopy, which can be utilized in conjunction with augmented reality on operating tables (Evans & Schenarts, 2016; Naur, Nilsson, Pietersen, Clementsen, & Konge, 2017; See, Chui, Chan, Wong, & Chan, 2016; Valdis, Chu, Schlachta, & Kiaii, 2016).