AvailableHospital ward
ACLS cardiac arrest (VF)
A ward patient arrests in ventricular fibrillation. Call for help, assign roles, run compressions, shock, give drugs on time and manage the patient after return of circulation.
Nursing simulation in VR, with a patient who reacts
Students walk into a ward, assess a real-looking patient and make the calls. Vitals change with what they do. Every run ends with a scored debrief they can learn from, then run again.
Who this is for: Deans, simulation coordinators, clinical placement leads and nursing faculty.
What gets in the way today
- Not enough placement hours
- Clinical placements are hard to find and harder to schedule. Students can graduate without ever seeing a deteriorating patient or a cardiac arrest.
- Sim lab time is scarce
- A manikin session needs a room, a technician and a facilitator. Each student might get one go at the high-stakes scenario per semester.
- Screen-based cases feel like a test
- Clicking options on a laptop does not build the habit of looking at the patient, the monitor and the room at the same time.
- Feedback arrives late
- Students do the scenario, then wait for a debrief that depends on who was watching and what they noticed.
How nursing education teams use it
- Practice mode with guides
- Hotspots on the patient show what to assess next: chest, pupils, pulses, skin. Students learn the routine before they are tested on it.
- Assessed mode
- Guides switch off. The scenario runs on the patient engine and every action is timed and scored against the guideline.
- Repeatable, scored debrief
- Each run ends with what went well, what was missed and when. Students can run it again straight away.
- Team sessions
- Several headsets on the same network join one scenario with roles, so a group can practise a code together.
Scenarios for nursing education
Full library
AvailableHospital wardSTEMI
Chest pain that turns out to be an ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Recognise it early, act on the ECG and escalate to cardiology without losing time.
AvailableHospital wardAcute asthma
A breathless patient getting worse. Assess the chest, start oxygen to target, give bronchodilators and recognise when it is time to call the team.
AvailableHospital wardSVT
A fast narrow-complex rhythm. Read the monitor, try vagal manoeuvres, prepare drugs and know when the patient is unstable.
AvailableHospital wardSepsis
A deteriorating patient with infection. Spot the early signs, take a full set of observations, start the sepsis pathway and escalate.
AvailableHospitalPregnancy cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest in a pregnant patient. Adapt resuscitation for pregnancy, coordinate the team and call the right specialists early.
AvailableBirth suiteNewborn resuscitation in a birth suite
A baby born floppy and not breathing. Start the clock, dry and stimulate, open the airway, ventilate and call the neonatal team.
- ComingWaiting room and aged care
De-escalation and responsive behaviours
An upset family member in a waiting room and a distressed resident living with dementia. Choose your words, read the warning signs and know when to step back and call for help.
- ComingClinical
IV cannulation and injections
Procedure practice for cannulation and injections, step by step, with the checks that matter.
- ComingClinical
Handover (ISBAR)
Give a clear, structured handover or escalation call using ISBAR.
How it maps to your training
Scenarios are built around the decisions nursing programs already teach and assess.
| Unit or program | Where it shows up |
|---|---|
| Clinical judgment (NCSBN CJMM) | Scenarios ask students to recognise cues, prioritise and act, then show the outcome. See our article on the clinical judgment model. |
| Deteriorating patient and escalation | Sepsis, acute asthma, STEMI and SVT focus on observations, early warning and calling for help. |
| Basic and advanced life support | ACLS cardiac arrest (VF) follows ANZCOR or AHA guidance depending on the regional pack. |
| Midwifery and maternity | Newborn resuscitation in a birth suite and pregnancy cardiac arrest. |
| OSCE practice | Practice mode works as OSCE preparation: a structured assessment sequence students can repeat until it is automatic. |
Mapping to your specific curriculum, units and assessment rubrics is done with your faculty during a pilot.
Results can go to your LMS gradebook through LTI 1.3, xAPI or SCORM. See connects to your learning systems.
Virtual clinicals and virtual simulation nursing
The NCSBN National Simulation Study found that up to 50% of traditional clinical hours could be replaced with high-quality simulation in prelicensure core nursing courses, under conditions comparable to the study. Rules on how many hours you can count differ by regulator and jurisdiction, so check yours before you plan.
Whatever you count, headset simulation gives every student the same patient, the same deterioration and the same scoring. That consistency is hard to guarantee on placement.
Source: NCSBN, National Simulation Study
Close look panel showing the patient’s pupils, equal and reacting to light 
Debrief panel listing timed actions, what was done well and what to work on
Reading for nursing education teams
- VR in Nursing Education: What the Latest Survey Shows
A Wolters Kluwer and NLN survey found VR use in nursing schools nearly doubled from 15% to 29%, with 53% planning to use it within 2 to 3 years. What that means for your program.
- Virtual Clinicals: What Counts and Where VR Fits
What virtual clinicals and virtual simulation in nursing mean, what the NCSBN National Simulation Study found about replacing clinical hours, and how to plan VR into the mix.
- The Clinical Judgment Model, Explained for Simulation
The NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model in plain English: the six cognitive skills, and how a simulated patient lets students practise each one.
- Critical Thinking Activities for Nursing Students (That Are Not Quizzes)
Simulation-based critical thinking practice for nursing students: activities that build cue recognition, prioritisation and reflection, from case discussion to VR scenarios.
- Debriefing in Simulation: What Good Looks Like
Debriefing in healthcare simulation, what the INACSL standard asks for, and how a scored, timed debrief in VR supports the facilitator rather than replacing them.
Need it built around your own site, equipment or procedures? See custom medical and nursing simulation.
The technology behind it
- XR training explained
VR, AR and mixed reality in plain words, and which to use for what.
- VR training
Room-scale, interactive simulation on standalone headsets.
- Mixed reality training
Passthrough on Meta Quest 3: the scenario in your own room.
- AR training
In the real room on HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest 3, plus phone web AR built to order.
- VR in healthcare
Clinical VR simulation for nursing, hospitals and aged care.
Questions people ask
Is this virtual simulation or VR?
Both terms get used. Ours runs in a standalone headset, so students move around a room-scale ward and use their hands. It also runs on PC VR and HoloLens 2.
Can it count towards clinical hours?
That depends on your regulator and accreditor. We can provide scenario objectives, run logs and debrief records to support your submission.
Do students need to be in the sim lab?
No. Standalone headsets work in a classroom or a spare room. Team sessions need the headsets on the same network.
Does it replace manikins?
No. It is a good partner to manikins. Use VR for repetition and decision-making, and manikins for hands-on skills like compression depth.
Pilot it with your students
Book a 30-minute demo. We will run a scenario live, talk through your training units and scope a pilot that fits your team.