Effects of Virtual Reality Simulation of Core Fundamental Nursing Skills for Intravenous Fluid Infusion on Nursing Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of virtual reality simulation of core fundamental nursing skills for intravenous fluid infusion on nursing students. The research design consisted of a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design through a nonequivalent control group. Participants in this study were 45 nursing students. They were assigned into two groups: 1) a control group (n = 21), trained using a high-fidelity simulator; and 2) an experimental group (n = 24), trained using virtual reality simulator. Participants were recruited from July 14, 2021 to August 31, 2021. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test with SPSS/WIN 21.0. There was no significant difference in problem solving ability score (Z = -0.85, p = 0.393) or clinical competence score (Z = -1.11, p = 0.263) between the two groups. However, the experimental group showed a significantly higher self-confidence score (Z = -5.04, p ≤ .001) than the control group. Thus, VR simulation of core fundamental nursing skills for IV can enhance confidence of nursing students.