Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) and Baylor Scott & White Research Institute recently received funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health. Co-Leading the research study is Dr. Kelly Rossler, Ph.D, RN, CHSE, Assistant Professor and INACSL Research Fellow, LHSON, and Dr. Ganesh Sankaranarayanan, Assistant Director, Center for Evidence Based Simulation, Academic Simulation Program, Baylor Scott & White Health.

The study titled Validation of an Immersive Virtual Reality Based Experiential Learning Simulator to Improve Medical Administration Safety Skills of Registered Nurses, will address the critical and unresolved nationwide problem of medication errors which accounts for up to $46 million in daily loss to hospital operational budgets in the United States. Drs. Rossler and Sankaranarayanan will develop an immersive virtual reality simulator and examine outcomes when Registered Nurses use the simulator for training in safe medication administration practices. The investigators also hope to determine if nurses trained with the immersive virtual reality simulator for medication administration demonstrate real world transfer of skills better than those who have didactic knowledge only.

This immersive virtual reality simulation-based education offers an environment where the learner can actively engage and interact within a realistic patient care setting in which medication errors can take place. The study will help determine if the simulator provides the capacity to educate healthcare professionals in a
manner which can be consistently reproduced and done so in an experiential learning environment where medication administration errors can be replicated without harm to actual patients. Dr. Rossler noted how “this project brings immersive virtual reality training directly to nurses practicing at the bedside as a strategy to promote safe medication administration behaviors. We seek to progress the science of simulation while focusing on education which can positively impact patient care.”

Dr. Sankaranarayanan noted that with recent developments in the Head Mounted Display (HMD) technology and the availability of affordable consumer HMD devices, immersive virtual reality simulators can become a reliable and cost-effective way of training in healthcare. This work expands upon Dr. Sankaranarayanan’s broader research in the use of immersive virtual reality simulation training, which includes projects such as operating room fire safety training, virtual airway skill training, and virtual electrosurgical skill training.

Drs. Rossler and Sankaranarayanan will test the effectiveness of the simulator with practicing Registered Nurses at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Lauding their NIH award, Dr. Tanya Sudia, LHSON Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship states, “Their innovative and engaging approach will lead the next generation of studies addressing team-based approaches to critical patient safety issues.”

About Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing
The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) located in Dallas was established in 1909 as a diploma program within Baylor Hospital in Dallas, which is now Baylor Scott & White Health’s Baylor University Medical Center and in 1950 became one of the six degree-granting schools of Baylor University. The first Baccalaureate degrees were granted in 1952 establishing the school among the earliest baccalaureate nursing programs in Texas. In 1999, the School was renamed the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing after Louise Herrington Ornelas, a 1992 Baylor Alumna Honoris Causa, who made an endowment gift to the school. Accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, LHSON offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees through a Traditional program and FastBacc® (one year accelerated) program. LHSON also offers an online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Leadership and Innovation program, and online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program including tracks as a Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Midwifery and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. LHSON also offers a separate DNP – Executive Nursing Leadership degree program. The U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) 2020 Best Graduate Schools ranked LHSON’s DNP program #41. USNWR’s 2019 Best Online Graduate Programs ranked LHSON’s MSN Leadership and Innovation online degree program #42. To learn more visit www.baylor.edu/nursing

About the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

The research project reported in this press release is supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R03EB026171. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.