The nursing students at NorQuest College have a new training and development tool, and it’s a tool that looks to the future of healthcare. Thanks to Dynacor, a tech-forward solution provider with offices in Edmonton and Victoria, the students are now using virtual reality (VR) to simulate some of the situations they will encounter while on the job. The VR allows the students to see, hear, and engage in medical situations, and even practice administering insulin.
“We worked with Dynacor to inform them of what we needed, and they delivered,” says NorQuest instructor Dustin Chan. “We wanted something that is engaging in a way that is familiar to today’s technology-driven students. With this, we are able to bring the motivation from the world of gaming into learning. Students are coming back to ‘play’ the VR scenario over and over again until they master the game/skill.”
Last year, in recognition of its work with the NorQuest PN Insulin Administration scenario, Dynacor received two Ember Awards: one for Best Industry Training and one for Best Virtual or Augmented Reality).
“Virtual reality is changing the way we train,” says Terri Dorn, who is the managing partner at Dynacor. “Once you experience VR, you instantly understand how engaging and productive an experience it is.”
Reg Joseph, CEO of Health City, an initiative to accelerate technology and innovation and to globally promote the Edmonton region’s healthcare industry, explains, “Augmented and virtual realities are disrupting the health sector. We are excited to see this kind of collaboration in our health ecosystem, where technology companies and health providers co-develop solutions to enhance care delivery and improve patients’ lives.”
The students have been using the AI program since early 2019, and they have plenty of good things to say about it.
“I like how it is different from the lab environment, and the ways it makes me think about what I have to do next,” says student Brandi Caskenette.
“It feels like you are actually there with a real patient,” says another student, Jayme Stadnyk.
Dynacor’s team lead of emerging technologies, Chris Mackney, has enjoyed the collaboration with NorQuest.
“It was very exciting to be able to combine innovative and immersive technology, such as virtual reality, with a potentially risky medication administration scenario,” says Mackney. “Allowing students to practice the proper steps in a safe environment was key.”
This technology is being hailed as an incredible tool to help students carry out important step-by-step procedures in a safe environment, and then repeat those procedures as they learn to perfect them before transferring those skills to a real-world patient. The confidence this instills in the nursing students is vital for when they graduate and enter the job force.
With this technology active at NorQuest College, it is clear that Edmonton is ready and willing to embrace and lead in the AI that helps to produce a strong, skilled workforce. Learn more about NorQuest College at www.norquest.ca, Dynacor at www.dynacormedia.com, and Health City at www.edmontonhealthcity.ca.
