Capturing the Student's Frame of Mind: The Wonders of Debriefing in Virtual Reality Simulation

Abstract : Debriefing is an essential component of simulation-based education that provides a safe environment for reflection and feedback post-scenario. The focus is on the student’s frame of mind, critical thinking, and clinical judgment with the intent to ensure students are prepared to provide safe nursing practice. While there has been a lot of research looking at debriefing with high-fidelity simulation, the application of debriefing to virtual reality (VR) has not been widely used.
At the beginning of each simulation-based activity, the faculty establish an engaging learning environment along with VR orientation. After each scenario, the faculty facilitate debriefing with 18 senior nursing students guided by the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice, Debriefing Assessment for Simulation Healthcare (DASH), and the Simulation Effectiveness Tool- Modified (Set-M). The students immerse in a VR scenario, participate in debriefing and complete The Set-M survey. The students are provided with ample time for debriefing, feedback, and guided reflection.
We used Set-M to evaluate our outcomes. All students reported high satisfaction in all five areas in the debriefing section. More than 96% of students selecting “Strongly Agree” and the remaining students selecting “Somewhat agree” The tool showed that the debriefing of the VR experience resulted in increased learning, improved clinical judgment, self-reflection, and constructive evaluation.
A structured framework for debriefing ensures consistent high-quality debriefings resulting in optimal student learning from VR scenarios. As simulation-based education, such as VR, continues to grow and be utilized the effectiveness of these modalities should be analyzed.