Virtual Hospital gained attention & attracted new collaborative opportunities
From launching a publicity campaign to signing of the purchase agreement with Tung Wah College, the Virtual Hospital research team has recently demonstrated our strength in transfer knowledge to innovate teaching and learning.
The School held a press conference on 15 August to announce the launch of the new virtual learning system Virtual Hospital and release the preliminary users’ learning outcomes. The event drew considerable media attention (eight local Chinese media coverage; Click here to view the Now TV news coverage) to the School’s latest innovation. Led by Dr Justina Liu*, Associate Professor, and Dr Kitty Chan, Senior Teaching Fellow, the Virtual Hospital research team took the media interest as an opportunity to proactively introduce the significance of the learning system to local professionals and nursing institutions.
Dr Kitty Chan (left) and Dr Justina Liu (right) highlighted the uniqueness and significance of the Virtual Hospital at the press conference.
On 9 September, Dr Justina Liu and Dr Kitty Chan were interviewed on the RTHK’s TV programme, Hong Kong United (凝聚香港), talking about how the Virtual Hospital supplements clinical practice in hospitals.
On 5 September, Secretary for Education, Dr Christine Choi Yuk-lin; Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li Mei-sheung; and Under Secretary for Education Mr Jeff Sze Chun-fai paid a visit to PolyU during which they attended a demonstration session organised by the School to learn more about how our Virtual Hospital simulates the complex and chaotic environment of a real-life hospital ward to prepare nursing students to respond to the health needs of multiple patients, manage unexpected incidents, and make appropriate clinical decisions.
Secretary for Education, Dr Christine Choi Yuk-lin (2nd from left), together with our nursing students, gave their thumbs up to the School’s Virtual Hospital.
On 16 September, a collaboration ceremony was held to celebrate the use of Virtual Hospital in teaching and research by Tung Wah College. The ceremony was followed by the signing of the purchase agreement of the Virtual Hospital between the School and Tung Wah College on 28 September. The knowledge transfer has opened up new teaching and learning collaborative opportunities for the School. The research team is planning to incorporate inter-professional and interdisciplinary elements in the Virtual Hospital and to introduce the learning system to other nursing institutions in Hong Kong and in the Greater Bay Area.
About the Virtual Hospital
Unlike current simulation training that mainly focuses on students’ mastery of procedural nursing skills or ability to manage a single patient/incident, the School’s Virtual Hospital is a first-of-its-kind virtual learning system in Hong Kong that simulates the complex and chaotic environment of a real-life hospital ward. When clinical placements were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Virtual Hospital offered a unique solution to increase preparedness of nursing students engaging in simulated learning for their future career.
Set in a general ward of a hospital, the system randomly generates fives types of simulated scenarios with over 1,200 combinations of randomised situations. In each scenario, the player are expected to identify the pitfalls of clinical practice, prioritise and complete the nursing tasks within a limited time, as well as manage unexpected distractions or multiple events. Throughout the Virtual Hospital’s VR games, the player is embarking on an experiential learning journey in which he/she has to apply his/her nursing knowledge, clinical reasoning, and communications skills to respond to different situations.
The School believes that the Virtual Hospital is effective in improving students’ situational awareness hence reducing their errors in practice in actual clinical settings. The system also enhances nursing student’s decision-making, managerial and communication skills, which are essential for their future career. Until now, over 450 nursing students have engaged in the Virtual Hospital games and have expressed high satisfaction over the learning experience.
Click here to watch the School’s video about the Virtual Hospital.
Players need to identify the pitfalls of clinical practice, prioritise and complete the nursing tasks within a limited time.
*Other team members
PolyU’s School of Nursing: Dr Kin Cheung, Associate Professor; Mr Timothy Lai, Senior Clinical Associate. Tung Wah College: Dr Rick Kwan (Co-Principal Investigator), Associate Dean (Programmes) & Professor.
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