VRpatients Unveils New Virtual Reality Training Platform for EMS First Responders

Unveiled today, VRpatients is an immersive virtual patient platform perfect for educating and training EMS first responders, either online or through Virtual Reality (VR). EMS Programs looking to immediately provide distance education and training opportunities should absolutely learn more about the just-launched VRpatients platform. Born out of the former product name Virtual Education Systems, VRpatients is a complete and total upgrade of its former self — with a comprehensive learning management system and an easy to use scenario development tool all accomplished through dynamic virtual reality presentation. Today we learn more about this brand new Emergency Medical Services virtual training tool!

Bridging the Gap for EMS Educators from the Classroom to the Field

Starting with the EMS educator in mind, one of the best features of the new VRpatients platform is the ability to really quick build, edit, and specifically customize the clinical scenario. From background location to initial patient vital signs, visible wounds, position and conversation, and from exact medication physiological changes to easily duplicating scenarios to make minor variations, the program is quick to pick up and efficient to use.

VRpatients is totally unique to the EMS medical simulation industry in that it removes trainer subjectivity from assessing the performance and preparedness of a student or practitioner. The platform reacts to the chosen course of treatment in real-time providing a consistent experience from user to user. Clinical case simulation scenarios are totally customizable, allowing the instructor to modify any aspect of the patient or clinical case in a matter of minutes.

Building basic cases in just minutes, the scenario development tool automatically produces a flash card like display of the entire patient case. Manipulating any minute detail across the big picture takes seconds. And don’t see a medication in the pre-built library for your specific healthcare simulation? Adding the simulated meds, including methods of application, possible doses and physiological effects takes almost no effort. It’s clear the team took direct feedback from leading EMS educators and upgraded every aspect of the VRpatients learning tool!

Showing Realistic Patient Environments, Across Platforms

Simply put, VRpatients allows first responders to test and expand their clinical skills, reducing the likelihood of critical performance failure. The first thing any EMS provider is taught to do when entering a patient’s area is to first assess the scene safety. Getting to walk into that space in VR and feel the direct realism of that digitized world is sure to help prepare EMS learners for environments they have never experienced before. However, not every program or learner has a VR headset just yet.

A unique feature of VRpatients is its ability to be displayed through either virtual reality headset hardware — or — from a common web-based platform. This means greater flexibility for the learner who can engage with both the 2D on a computer and the 3D experiences through VR headsets. So while experiencing a patient in 3D is usually preferred, the hardware is not a barrier to the core clinical training that VRpatients provides. Either way, “VRpatients is truly an immersive learning experience that awakens a first responder’s intellect, heightens their senses, even induces stress,” said Duane Ginder, EMT-P, Education Director of VRpatients.

VRpatients’ diverse library of realistic patient avatars and frequently encountered environments brings every aspect of patient care to life. In addition, its intuitive case authoring tool provides a comprehensive toolset of educational parameters. This gives educators the flexibility to modify the patient, scene, or clinical conditions in a matter of minutes. Users react to the chosen course of treatment in real-time, providing a consistent experience from user to user. Trainers, in turn, gain the ability to objectively assess the clinical competency and preparedness of the medic.

VRpatients Core Features:

• Consistent training: Using protocols predetermined by the trainer, the platform reacts to the chosen course of treatment in real time, providing a consistent experience from user to user.
• Objective assessments: VRpatients’ enhanced grading rubric provides a computer generated assessment of the user’s treatment decisions at the conclusion of each case, eliminating trainer subjectivity.
• Limitless case scenarios: The intuitive medical case authoring tool allows users the unmatched ability to modify existing content or create new content tailored to specific training objectives.
• Increased efficiency & reduced costs: Virtual reality training can be done wherever there is WiFi, and in a shorter time frame.
• Improved Retention: VR engages the senses, emotions and cognitive functions of the brain, tapping into the most powerful aspects of retention.
• Increased Comprehension: VR-based teaching makes abstract content more concrete and easier to understand.
• Better Performance: Those trained with VR are able to perform procedures more accurately, confidently and with less mistakes.

Get Started Now with Virtual EMS Training During COVID-19

During the chaos of the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been an immediate need to migrate EMS educational programs to virtual or online environments with a rapid transition. The exciting news here is that VRpatients is immediately available for roll-out even to programs without VR headsets, who still want to provide a quick and robust way to educate and train EMS learners with core competencies and unique training scenarios. EMS program directors should definitely learn more through the link below!

More About the VRpatients Company

VRpatients, and its parent company, Virtual Education Systems, began as a startup funded by Cincinnati-based tech incubator CincyTech and Columbus-based Rev1 Ventures before it was acquired in 2018. Since then, the entire platform, including the UI/UX experience, clinical case scenarios, environments and authoring tool have been rebuilt and rebranded as VRpatients. Headquartered in Ohio, VRpatients provides real life training without real life consequences.

Learn More on the New VRpatients Website Now!

About the Author: Lance Baily

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Lance Baily, BA, EMT-B, is the Founder & CEO of HealthySimulation.com, which he started while serving as the Director of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas back in 2010. Lance is also the Founder and acting Advisor to the Board of SimGHOSTS.org, the world’s only non-profit organization dedicated to supporting professionals operating healthcare simulation technologies. His co-edited Book: “Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Operations, Technology, and Innovative Practice” is cited as a key source for professional certification in the industry. Lance’s background also includes serving as a Simulation Technology Specialist for the LA Community College District, EMS fire fighting, Hollywood movie production, rescue diving, and global travel. He and his wife Abigail Baily, PhD live in Las Vegas, Nevada with their two amazing daughters.