Röwer Hanna A A, Skvortsova Aleksandrina, Saab Mohamad M, Hartigan Irene, Bausewein Claudia, Pereira Sandra Martins, Hernández-Marrero Pablo, Hrdlička Jan, Rusinová Kateřina, Loučka Martin, Hrdličková Lucie, Zielina Martin, Payne Cathy, Van Vliet Liesbeth M, Klemmt Malte, Afshar Kambiz, Stiel Stephanie
Institute for General Practice and Palliative Care, Hannover Medical School, Germany.
Leiden University, Department of Health and Medical Psychology, the Netherlands.
PEC Innov. 2025 Aug 26;7:100426. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2025.100426. eCollection 2025 Dec.
In healthcare education, virtual reality (VR), simulating real-world situations, is emerging as a tool to improve communication skills, particularly in sensitive scenarios involving patients and caregivers. While promising, VR-based education also poses challenges such as avatar realism, cognitive load, and the need for pedagogical grounding.
This protocol paper presents the VR-TALKS project, which aims to develop, apply, and evaluate VR scenarios designed to teach healthcare students communication skills in serious illness scenarios. Barriers and facilitators to integrating VR into healthcare teaching modules, along with the usability, feasibility, and educational impact of the VR tool, will be assessed across five European countries, incorporating insights from both students and educators.
Phase 1 involves screening current communication courses at six partner institutions to identify opportunities for integrating VR. Phase 2 assesses the barriers and facilitators faced by approximately = 70 educators in incorporating VR into communication training. Phase 3 focuses on developing VR scenarios based on the SPIKES and NURSE techniques. Phase 4 evaluates the usability and feasibility of the scenarios with = 200 students and = 30 educators. Feedback from this phase will inform further improvement of the tool.
The project will provide valuable insights into the barriers and facilitators of VR integration, develop two VR scenarios in multiple languages, and collect data on feasibility, usability, and user satisfaction. Additionally, it will offer recommendations for effectively incorporating VR into university curricula. Potential limitations of immersive VR, such as motion sickness, will be considered during evaluation.
The project aims to enhance teaching methods for serious illness communication across Europe. The knowledge gained will be disseminated publicly through peer-reviewed publications and the project website, with plans to offer the VR training to other universities.
By addressing the limitations of conventional training, VR-TALKS offers healthcare professionals the opportunity to develop crucial communication skills in a repeatable, standardized, and time-flexible environment.
ERASMUS+ Program through the Centre for International Cooperation in Education in the Czech Republic, "Dům zahraniční spolupráce" (DZS), spanning from 01.09.2023 to 31.08.2025.
在医疗保健教育中，虚拟现实（VR）能够模拟现实世界的情况，正逐渐成为一种提升沟通技巧的工具，尤其是在涉及患者和护理人员的敏感场景中。尽管前景广阔，但基于VR的教育也带来了诸如虚拟形象逼真度、认知负荷以及教学基础需求等挑战。
本方案文件介绍了VR-TALKS项目，该项目旨在开发、应用和评估旨在教授医学生在重症场景中沟通技巧的VR场景。将在五个欧洲国家评估将VR整合到医疗教学模块中的障碍和促进因素，以及VR工具的可用性、可行性和教育影响，同时纳入学生和教育工作者的见解。
第一阶段包括筛选六个合作机构当前的沟通课程，以确定整合VR的机会。第二阶段评估约70名教育工作者在将VR纳入沟通培训时面临的障碍和促进因素。第三阶段专注于基于SPIKES和NURSE技巧开发VR场景。第四阶段用200名学生和30名教育工作者评估这些场景的可用性和可行性。此阶段的反馈将为工具的进一步改进提供依据。
该项目将为VR整合的障碍和促进因素提供有价值的见解，开发两种多语言的VR场景，并收集有关可行性、可用性和用户满意度的数据。此外，它将为有效地将VR纳入大学课程提供建议。在评估过程中将考虑沉浸式VR的潜在局限性，如晕动病。
该项目旨在加强欧洲重症沟通的教学方法。所获得的知识将通过同行评审出版物和项目网站公开传播，并计划向其他大学提供VR培训。
通过解决传统培训的局限性，VR-TALKS为医疗专业人员提供了在可重复、标准化和时间灵活的环境中培养关键沟通技巧的机会。
通过捷克共和国国际教育合作中心“国际合作之家”（DZS）获得伊拉斯谟+计划资助，时间从2023年9月1日至2025年8月31日。
