The perceived usability of desktop VR for practicing preoperative handovers using ISBAR among nursing students

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is an evolving teaching method (Jacobs et al., 2022). However, there is no VR solution for practicing systematic and precise communication, which is a crucial nursing competence during handovers when patients undergo surgery (Gordon, 2018). It is recommended to use the identification-situation-background-assessment-recommendation (ISBAR) approach, which is evidence-based and recommended for communicating patient information between healthcare providers (Shahid & Thomas, 2018). VR has great potential to improve learning outcomes (Foronda et al., 2020; Kyaw et al., 2019). Therefore, a preoperative ISBAR desktop VR application (henceforth application) was developed for undergraduate nursing students to practice handovers. This study evaluated the perceived usability of this application solution involving nine second-year undergraduate nursing students aged 22–29 years at a university in Norway. The participants completed the System Usability Score (SUS) (Brooke, 1996). The students found the application to be a highly motivational learning tool and said it provided interactive learning experiences that were engaging and close to practice. The mean score on the SUS was 83 out of a possible 100 (standard deviation 18.8), which translates to excellent usability (Fig. 1), which means that nursing students found it easy to complete tasks efficiently and effectively.