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C922 WGU Final Paper: VR Integration in Nursing
Education Strategies Latest Update
Educational Technology Trend: Augmented Virtual Reality
Shannon M. Gray-Boettcher
Leavitt School of Health, Western Governors University
C922 Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education
Dr. Henrietta Hanna
June 28, 2025
®™
Western Governors University 1|Page
pg. 1
, 2
Accessibility Review Completed and Approved for Distribution and Use. Academic
Product Management [HC - Based on review completed 9/16/24.]
pg. 2
, 2
Executive Summary
Healthcare has seen many benefits from integrating technology for patient care,
so to keep up with the emerging technology available, nursing programs must provide
future nurses opportunities to learn using the technology. Nursing students must practice
their skills, communication, and knowledge in patient care. Currently, mannequins,
simulations, and live actors are several ways that nursing programs can assist students in
safely gaining experience. I propose using Virtual Reality(VR) simulations in
Community Health Nursing to improve student learning outcomes. In Table 1, you can
see plenty of articles, studies, and research that look at VR as an effective tool for
developing nurse's confidence and applying skills. As seen in Table 2, the need to fill the
time, space, and resources gap in the current mannequin simulation could be solved by
the proposed VR implementation. Table 3 shows that current technology can easily be
adapted to incorporate VR and that most programs are looking for better use of their time
and resources, which I believe VR can fulfill. I will discuss the current technology
challenges, ways to overcome those challenges, and what to look for within an
organization that could be a barrier to change. Utilizing Lewin's change theory, phases of
change steps were taken to develop and implement VR as an emerging technology into
the Community Health Nursing course. Given all the positive research on VR use in
nursing education, the consensus among researchers is to expand studies to determine the
effectiveness of VR in nursing education and patient care.
Western Governors University 2|Page
Accessibility Review Completed and Approved for Distribution and Use. Academic
Product Management [HC - Based on review completed 9/16/24.]
pg. 3
, 2
Educational TechnologyTrend: Augmented Virtual Reality
Literature Summary
In Table 1, I have reviewed the following five sources to support using Virtual
Reality (VR) in nursing education for the community health curriculum.
Source one is a scoping review that helps audiences understand the various forms of
virtual reality (VR) and the implications of using immersive VR within nursing
education. Established methodologies were used as peer reviewers independently
screened titles and abstracts of 2115 articles and fourteen articles between 2010 and 2022
using credible data search resources. The reviews included various studies, surveys in
several countries, and qualitative and quantitative results. The findings indicated
increased interest in accessing immersive VR in nursing education. Vogelsang et al.
discovered through their research that the value of VR for nursing education might be
broader than skill acquisition and may support the development of the "art of nursing"
skills such as communication, empathy, and confidence. Although the review showed an
increase in the five major themes of VR use, there was a limitation: most studies were
conducted with small samples in single nursing courses, at single sites, or within one
geographical region. Only peer-reviewed published nursing education literature was
included. Grey literature and theoretical and conceptual papers were not part of the
search strategy. Finally, we only reviewed English language research. The future scoping
review should be expanded to include graduate-level programs and continuing education
to have
Western Governors University 3|Page
Accessibility Review Completed and Approved for Distribution and Use. Academic
Product Management [HC - Based on review completed 9/16/24.]
pg. 4
C922 WGU Final Paper: VR Integration in Nursing
Education Strategies Latest Update
Educational Technology Trend: Augmented Virtual Reality
Shannon M. Gray-Boettcher
Leavitt School of Health, Western Governors University
C922 Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education
Dr. Henrietta Hanna
June 28, 2025
®™
Western Governors University 1|Page
pg. 1
, 2
Accessibility Review Completed and Approved for Distribution and Use. Academic
Product Management [HC - Based on review completed 9/16/24.]
pg. 2
, 2
Executive Summary
Healthcare has seen many benefits from integrating technology for patient care,
so to keep up with the emerging technology available, nursing programs must provide
future nurses opportunities to learn using the technology. Nursing students must practice
their skills, communication, and knowledge in patient care. Currently, mannequins,
simulations, and live actors are several ways that nursing programs can assist students in
safely gaining experience. I propose using Virtual Reality(VR) simulations in
Community Health Nursing to improve student learning outcomes. In Table 1, you can
see plenty of articles, studies, and research that look at VR as an effective tool for
developing nurse's confidence and applying skills. As seen in Table 2, the need to fill the
time, space, and resources gap in the current mannequin simulation could be solved by
the proposed VR implementation. Table 3 shows that current technology can easily be
adapted to incorporate VR and that most programs are looking for better use of their time
and resources, which I believe VR can fulfill. I will discuss the current technology
challenges, ways to overcome those challenges, and what to look for within an
organization that could be a barrier to change. Utilizing Lewin's change theory, phases of
change steps were taken to develop and implement VR as an emerging technology into
the Community Health Nursing course. Given all the positive research on VR use in
nursing education, the consensus among researchers is to expand studies to determine the
effectiveness of VR in nursing education and patient care.
Western Governors University 2|Page
Accessibility Review Completed and Approved for Distribution and Use. Academic
Product Management [HC - Based on review completed 9/16/24.]
pg. 3
, 2
Educational TechnologyTrend: Augmented Virtual Reality
Literature Summary
In Table 1, I have reviewed the following five sources to support using Virtual
Reality (VR) in nursing education for the community health curriculum.
Source one is a scoping review that helps audiences understand the various forms of
virtual reality (VR) and the implications of using immersive VR within nursing
education. Established methodologies were used as peer reviewers independently
screened titles and abstracts of 2115 articles and fourteen articles between 2010 and 2022
using credible data search resources. The reviews included various studies, surveys in
several countries, and qualitative and quantitative results. The findings indicated
increased interest in accessing immersive VR in nursing education. Vogelsang et al.
discovered through their research that the value of VR for nursing education might be
broader than skill acquisition and may support the development of the "art of nursing"
skills such as communication, empathy, and confidence. Although the review showed an
increase in the five major themes of VR use, there was a limitation: most studies were
conducted with small samples in single nursing courses, at single sites, or within one
geographical region. Only peer-reviewed published nursing education literature was
included. Grey literature and theoretical and conceptual papers were not part of the
search strategy. Finally, we only reviewed English language research. The future scoping
review should be expanded to include graduate-level programs and continuing education
to have
Western Governors University 3|Page
Accessibility Review Completed and Approved for Distribution and Use. Academic
Product Management [HC - Based on review completed 9/16/24.]
pg. 4
