Funded by: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
PI: Dr. Jason M. Harley
Co-app: Dr. Susanne P. Lajoie
Collaborators: Dr. Gerald M. Fried, Dr. Melanie Lavoie-Tremblay, Mr. Hugo Marchand
Project Description:
In-person simulations are a core part of medical and nursing education, but with COVID-19 social distancing protocols in place, these educational experiences will be restricted for the upcoming year. In light of the need for alternatives to in-person simulation, healthcare organizations have advised medical and nursing schools to consider adopting virtual simulations to help students safely and effectively complete their training. Virtual simulations provide medical and nursing students the opportunity to practice running through healthcare procedures in a game-like environment without the need for physical and human resources that are challenging to safely provide during the pandemic. Virtual simulations are, however, an emerging technology and, while positive, the current literature would be best described as nascent. Moreover, this technology is typically used and evaluated in-person in simulation centres and labs rather than in students' homes on personal computers which would support distance learning objectives during the pandemic.
The objectives of this partnership are to implement and evaluate virtual simulation technology within medical and nursing students' education at McGill in the coming fall 2020 semester. Our evaluation will include assessing: (1) the accessibility and usability of a virtual simulation technology, (2) its influence on students' expectations to success in their education and future-related emotions (e.g., hope), (3) the educational quality of the virtual simulation technology, and (4) to identify potential disparities in these objectives based on individual differences, including sex and gender.
