How Virtual Reality is Making its Way Into EMS Training

As digital technology makes its way into nearly every aspect of our society and our lives, it only makes sense that it is making an appearance in the way that we train for emergency medical services. In an effort to improve training and leave the tradition of practicing on mannequins and dummies behind, Utah’s Paramedic is incorporating virtual reality, or VR, into its mission and top-rated EMS training programs.

Aspects of VR Medical Training 

Virtual reality is widely known in the entertainment industry, but it’s now being used as a way to save lives and find solutions to medical issues and scenarios. Through immersive virtual reality medical training, there are unlimited ways to approach a scenario and interact with it, optimizing the educational experience and preparing students for real-world scenarios. With VR headsets, hand controllers, holograms, holoprojections, and 360-degree cameras, students are able to act just as they would in real-life situations, but with a learning curve that won’t produce real-life consequences. Practicing on dummies and mannequins can only get you so far with how you imagine yourself acting in disaster scenes. This hyper-realistic learning experience is changing the game for those who can see themselves with a future in emergency medical services. 

In addition to being able to recreate accident scenes, students are able to see human anatomy re-created in the VR practice routines. Bones, muscles, tissue, and organs can all be interacted with, producing a seamless collaborative and learning experience. Because students are able to experience these simulations and interact with them in a way they would in real accident scenarios, they are better prepared to offer skilled, effective, and life-saving services. 

Saving Lives With VR

Being customized to specific situations, virtual reality medical training allows students to understand processes and procedures with the equipment they are just learning how to us. One of the biggest challenges when training for an EMS certification is learning how to use the equipment and treat patients. This challenge is almost directly resolved with VR. While simulations should not entirely replace the real and physical form of training, it provides a way for students to understand procedures and techniques in a more in-depth and high-intensity environment. The medical world is always advancing in finding new and effective ways to save lives. In order to keep up, it is beneficial to learn new equipment, new technology, and new practices in a simulation that provides students the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them without real costs. 

VR provides immersive training techniques that offer situational awareness and preparedness that traditional training just can’t. Accidents, wounds, and injuries simply cannot be replicated in traditional forms of training, making VR a vital part of drills, exercises, and research. In order to fully understand how demanding a First Responders’  and EMTs’ job responsibilities are, it is necessary to witness them in an environment where they are still able to learn while witnessing the high-intensity situations first-hand. Technology can fill the gap that traditional training leaves between a student’s first day in class and their first day on the job, truly having tremendous impacts on how they respond and approach emergency situations.

VR disaster training can have students mentally ready to provide quality, effective, and life-saving services. To register for EMS training classes, sign up on our website or visit Utah’s Paramedic and speak with us today.