Northwest Florida State College brings virtual reality training to nursing department

Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
·1 min read

NICEVILLE — Northwest Florida State College is bringing virtual reality to health-care training.

On Thursday, the college announced a partnership with Xennial, a Florida-based virtual reality/augmented reality company that will bring customized training programs for future nurses and health-care professionals.

“The potential of immersive or extended technology to augment workforce training programs, particularly in the health sciences, is significant,” said Devin Stephenson, president of Northwest Florida State College. “The use of virtual reality can create realistic and engaging simulations to expedite training, all the while improving student outcomes.”

The partnership was contributed by a recent $30 million Triumph Gulf Coast grant to expand the NWFSC nursing program, which includes new ways to teach students. In a release, Xennial CEO Douglas Fajardo said that this partnership with the college will provide students with innovative and competitive advantages that will allow them to serve in the health-care field.

The VR/AR training will allow students to enter a virtual environment ahead of in-person study, allowing a high success rate. The new learning programs will enable students to learn from their mistakes in a risk-free environment, the release said.

"By introducing simulated field scenarios to recreate tense or difficult patient experiences, we are able to work with students to better adjust and refine their behaviors in ways not otherwise possible," Vice President of Academic Affairs Henry Mack said in the release.

The first VR/AR training modules will be developed at the start of the 2024 academic year, with a full training program of nursing-related modules that will be developed through 2026. NWFSC will be the first state college in Florida to use a VR/AR training experience for its students to this scale.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: NWFSC introduces virtual reality training to nursing department