Optional classes including stress management and anti-burnout, courses using a disability simulator in VR that teach about the limitations and needs of people with disabilities, and interactive digital workshops on patient care supported by the "Human Care - Diagnosis and Care" mobile app.
Innovative project of the Silesian Medical University "NurseFormers - Nurse of the Future".
Published Oct. 15, 2025 07:29
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It is precisely these activities that are included in the Silesian Medical University's innovative project for nursing students, "NurseFormers - Nurse of the Future."
As part of the implementation of the project, a number of activities are planned for ŚUM nursing students, including: introduction of gamification elements (including additional points as in computer games) for the subject "Anatomy" using the application "Body Wars". The task is to create a role-playing educational game "Body Wars", which will contain 16 scenarios with a total game time of about 16 hours. Each scenario will include about 10 issues: insertion, blood collection, catheterization.
- The tools will enable students to solve virtual medical cases, perform diagnostic tests and make diagnoses in real time, which will contribute to their acquisition of practical medical knowledge and enhance their ability to use information technology in education. The application will be available for phones, tablets and computers," says Przemysław Jędrusik, head of the Center for Remote Learning and Analysis of Educational Outcomes at ŚUM, co-creator of the program.
A new feature will be an interactive digital workshop on patient care, supported by the "Human Care - Diagnostics and Care" mobile application. Thanks to the produced application, the student will be in a virtual space with access to the full equipment of the operating room or treatment room and a virtual patient, learning by self-evaluation of the situation, decision-making, with the option to repeat the interaction and their own pace of action.
A class on the limitations and needs of people with disabilities using a virtual reality VR disability simulator will be extremely important.
The simulator will make it possible to learn about the needs of the visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing, elderly, abnormally tall (including children), and those with limited mobility (wheelchair users). - VR will be used to train students to care for people with various disabilities. The simulator makes it possible to move into situations where students can experience the challenges of caring for patients with special needs, Przemysław Jędrusik stresses.
The simulator includes virtual reality and physical elements (e.g., a weighted vest and shorts of adjustable size and degree of disability, a wheelchair placed on a special platform), which enables participants to have a more in-depth understanding of patients' needs and limitations. Thanks to the technology used, the person participating in the simulation will be able to look at the world through the eyes of people with specific disabilities and attempt to perform selected tasks - for example, with regard to the elderly, the participant will be able to perform tasks in specific situations with regard to vision and hearing limitations, movement limitations in the spine, shoulders and hips, the feeling of heaviness caused by limited muscle length due to aging.
There are also innovative classes for students on stress management and preventing professional burnout.
Source: Silesian Medical University
