Scaling Nursing Education through Virtual Reality at Bow Valley College

Bow Valley College runs one of Canada’s largest nursing programs, with nearly 2,000 students in its accelerated 18-month diploma program. With rising student numbers and limited clinical placements, the college faced challenges in providing robust, real-world experiences to nursing students. 

Bow Valley College integrated UbiSim’s Virtual Reality (VR) simulation platform to bridge this gap, allowing students to experience immersive, critical patient scenarios that develop essential skills in clinical judgment, therapeutic communication, and teamwork. 

We interviewed two nurse educators, an administrator, and a student: 

• Clare Howland (Program Chair)
• Melissa Bruce (Program Chair)
• Roger Crowe (Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialist)
• Euphemia Ishola (Final-term practical nursing student)

Key takeaways:

• VR enhances student preparedness by simulating high-stakes scenarios in a low-stakes environment.
• UbiSim’s flexibility supports diverse learning, allowing students to encounter and manage a wide range of patient profiles.
• Simplified setup and portability of VR make it an accessible tool, enabling Bow Valley College to scale immersive learning across large cohorts.

Embracing patient diversity in VR

Clare Howland: “What’s nice about UbiSim is that there are a lot of options to embed diversity into our simulation programs. We can’t guarantee that all 750 students will encounter a transgender patient or an unhoused patient in clinical practice, but we can do that with simulation. In debriefs, we unpack the learning experience and can even start to address unconscious biases.”

Roger Crowe: “UbiSim gives us a lot of flexibility. It lets us expose them to environments and situations so that out in the real world, their response isn’t, ‘I don’t know what this is or how to deal with it,’ but rather, ‘I know exactly what’s going on and how to handle it.’”

Simulating psychological safety

Clare Howland: “In a recent simulation of a patient experiencing an opioid overdose, learners really struggled emotionally. There was some panic and anxiety. It was meaningful because the learners could talk about the emotions that came up, even though this was a virtual patient. Being able to simulate that anxiety in a safe environment allows learners to experience it and then start thinking about tools to overcome it.”

Melissa Bruce: “In simulation, I tell students, ‘I’m here to support your knowledge, not to grade you.’ This experience is about learning together, and students feel that difference in approach and feel comfortable making mistakes.”

Preparing students for real-world challenges

Euphemia Ishola: “The breathing was slowing down, the patient was going cyanotic, his color was changing. If I had gone into a clinical setting and this happened, I may not have known it was an overdose. UbiSim equipped me to recognize the signs and know exactly what to do, including administering naloxone. It made me feel like a real nurse.”

Roger Crow: “Simulation is all about exposing students to situations so that when they’re out in the real world, they’re not panicking—they’re ready. VR lets them experience high-stakes situations in a low-stakes environment.”

Impacting student confidence

Melissa Bruce: “The students come out of the VR simulation excited. They’ve had a chance to apply the theory they’ve been learning, and that lightbulb moment is so powerful. I can see they’re growing more confident with each scenario. With the debrief report, I get a detailed checklist of what the learners did and did not do, which helps me guide them in clinical judgment and think about what to do better next time

Euphemia Ishola: “I’m not fully comfortable yet, but I know that I’m getting there. I feel more confident in my skills after using UbiSim, and if I make a mistake in VR, I know I can come back and try again without harm to a real patient.”

Developing critical thinking skills

Melissa Bruce: “We’re focusing on building clinical judgment, not just skills. I tell students, ‘I’m not concerned about whether you can insert an IV line in VR; I want to know if you understand why this patient needs an IV.’”

Clare Howland: “In debriefs, we can talk through why they made certain choices and help them unpack their clinical reasoning. It’s not just about skills, but understanding the ‘why’ behind each intervention.”

Roger Crowe: “It’s a great tool for teaching critical thinking skills, and that’s what our students need. They leave here understanding what they’re going to see and how to deal with it.” 

Relieving student anxiety

Euphemia Ishola: “The VR experience reduced my anxiety. In a real clinical setting, I may have panicked, but here I knew I could make mistakes, learn, and be ready for the real world.”

Melissa Bruce: “The minute learners put on their headsets, you can see their shoulders relax… the stress is less, and they can focus fully on patient care.”

Simplifying simulation: ease of setup and implementation

Melissa Bruce: “We have five manikin bays, but with 750 students, that’s not enough. With VR, I can take a space like a classroom or even a converted storage closet, set up the headsets, and we’re ready to go. The simplicity of setup is incredible compared to high-fidelity manikins.”

Clare Howland: “The only tools we need for UbiSim are a laptop and headsets. For our facilitation team, that takes a lot of stress away.”

Attracting future students

Roger Crow: “When prospective students see UbiSim in action, there’s a buzz. They’re excited to get hands-on with VR, and I think it’s an excellent way to attract learners who are looking for a tech-forward program.”

Melissa Bruce: “In new student orientation, we spend the most time in our simulation areas, showing them how VR will be a key part of their learning. They can see healthcare is a technology-driven field, and they’re excited to be part of that.”