Western Sydney University Online has introduced the technology to its online Bachelor of Nursing Degree with the aim of supporting students who don’t have weekly access to on-campus facilities. More than a quarter of Western Sydney University Online’s nursing cohort are based in regional or remote areas.

The students will utilise virtual reality headsets with their smart phone to simulate the clinical practice unit at home. The experience is designed to prepare students for their first clinical practice residential, ultimately saving them orientation time and improving their confidence levels. 

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Dr Cathy Dickson, Program Director of Nursing and Health Science at Western Sydney University Online, said orientating student nurses to the clinical setting was a time-consuming exercise, as well as a daunting experience for individuals doing it for the first time. 

“New technologies like virtual reality are starting to play an important role in teaching clinical skills to the next generation of nurses. We’ve introduced the virtual reality technology to enrich the learning experience and overall technical competence of those studying online,” Dr Dickson said.    

“At a practical level, it will help students to familiarise themselves with the new and unfamiliar setting of the clinical practice environment so that they can concentrate on skill development and applying theory to practice.

“With a significant shortage of nurses in regional and remote Australia, advanced training pathways like the use of virtual reality technology will go some way to filling the gap in the health care industry. Our online course is designed to provide highly-skilled nurses to health care facilities across the country.”

Western Sydney University Online provides non-traditional students the opportunity to study course content from a university that’s ranked number one for nursing in Australia (Centre for World University Rankings, 2017) and ranked in the top two per cent globally.

“We’re proud of the online learning environment we’ve built at Western Sydney University Online, providing students the freedom and flexibility to gain a degree to students who have a passion for the profession without having to put their lives on hold. Most of our students are studying nursing while raising a family or working part-time and have voiced their thanks for the opportunity to study online with Western,” Dr Dickson said.