Emergency Medicine: Open Access
Open Access
ISSN: 2165-7548
+44 1223 790975
ISSN: 2165-7548
+44 1223 790975
Emilia Turucz*, Sorana T. Truta, Erno Jerzicska, Cristian M. Boeriu, Janos Szederjesi and Leonard Azamfirei
Introduction: Training is a key element in ensuring quality patient care for emergency medical teams. Within the framework of the European Modular Field Hospital project, a prototype of a complex educational program was developed, which is aimed at preparing field hospital personnel for real missions.
Objectives: This is the first study to use virtual reality-based simulation exercises in this context. The goal was to assess these complex virtual simulation exercises in terms of their usefulness and applicability.
Methods: The program prototype was tested in a multinational multidisciplinary real educational environment as part of two pilot courses. The evaluation consisted of online questionnaires that separately addressed each educational activity. The course content, structure, and simulation exercises were continuously developed according to feedback.
Results: 76 trainees from eight countries participated in the two pilot courses. Of the participants, 63.9% said that the method was suitable for conducting such exercises. Its technical use is “easy enough” to learn (59.7%) and provides an interactive (90.32%) and realistic (25.0%) working environments.
Discussion: Our assumption that virtual reality is a usable method in this context was supported by participants’ feedback. The visual impact of the virtual environment enhances the psychical immersion of trainees in practical activities. Over time, these cyberspace experiences have become real professional memories and contribute to the long-term preservation of knowledge.
Conclusions: Virtual reality is a promising educational tool that can complement expensive and laborious field exercises. It provides an interactive, realistic, and immersive simulation environment supported by comparable resources.
Published Date: 2021-09-07;