We’ve come a long way since Virtual Reality piqued the curiosity of the consumer industry, and what was once a futuristic concept, is now a commercial reality. With the potential to change the world, VR has evolved into a robust platform, offering immersive possibilities across fields and notably so in healthcare education. Virtual Reality has not only been accelerating medical training but also revolutionizing it, transforming how one learns, trains, and makes decisions.
Modern healthcare demands more than just theoretical understanding, and the traditional ‘watch and learn’ model is no longer sufficient to meet the complexity of real-life medical situations. By virtually simulating such situations, new learners can gain firsthand experience and have complete control over medical proceedings without any risk to real patients. Moreover, VR allows the possibility of introducing hands-on training earlier on in the curriculum, giving students a low-stakes head start on practical exposure. Students need real-time practicals, independent decision-making, and procedural fluency. VR simulations hold the power to efficiently bridge the gap between learning and practice.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), an Institute of Eminence, is bringing this precision practice to the heart of healthcare education through a pioneering collaboration with MediSim VR. A virtual reality-based hands-on learning, minus the hands-on risk enables medical students to practice, and hone critical procedures even before stepping into a hospital.
MediSim VR is a med-tech innovator with a growing footprint in simulation-based healthcare training. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between MAHE and Medisim VR is a significant step forward in integrating immersive technologies into medical education. The partnership will see the launch of a dedicated VR Skill Lab at MAHE, fostering innovation through cutting-edge research in VR for healthcare and medical education.
How This Benefits the MAHE Students:
• Enhanced Learning Experience
Students may practice complex medical procedures in a fully immersive virtual environment before entering the real world.
• Clinical Readiness
With repetitive interactive learning lessons being a possibility, students can learn at their own pace, build muscle memory, and retain the knowledge, leading to refined skills and boosting confidence in critical procedures.
• Objective Assessment
Students can keep track of and perfect their performance, allowing them to make mistakes and learn through real-time feedback on timing, technique, and decision-making.
• Soft-Skills Training
Students are better equipped to manage pressure during practice, reducing stress and anxiety. It helps manage emotions and deal with the psychological implications of patient care.
• Cross-Disciplinary Application
The program creates a broader impact in medical research to discover new, effective procedures across medicine, nursing, and allied health sciences.
Virtual Reality is ready to accelerate and revolutionize medical training for healthcare organizations and higher education institutions, and MAHE is ready for it. Implemented alongside traditional training methods in the curriculum, it aims to complement and truly transform healthcare learning.
Hence, as healthcare evolves, the standard for skill and safety at MAHE evolves too. With a model that is adaptive, repeatable, and deeply data-informed, this tech-first initiative brings a structural change in how healthcare education is delivered, and in the years to come, it may well define what it means to be truly prepared in healthcare.
