Description of the video:
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>> We've been wanting to do virtual reality here at IUPUC
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for a lot of reasons but flexibility being one of them.
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So the equipment is SimX AR.
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So it is a company out of California
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that does virtual reality programming
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for health professions.
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>> It's very accurate because I work in a hospital.
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And like when we have C. diff patients, like the isolation,
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you have to practice putting on the gown, the gloves,
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washing the hands properly.
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>> Did my test results come back?
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I'm having all this diarrhea.
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>> Well you actually have a condition that's called C. diff.
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So it actually makes you have diarrhea there for a while.
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>> I like the aspect that you're communicating with the patient
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and the family members because that's-- that's real life.
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>> So what medications were you on during the pregnancy?
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>> I used pills about a week ago.
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>? What pills were they?
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Do you know the exact name of the medication?
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>> I'd rather not say.
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>> Oh, okay.
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>> I take pain medication.
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>> Unfortunately we do see commonly and a lot
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across the country we do, but we do see it a lot
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of it here in our region.
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So that is babies born to a mother
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that took various types of drugs.
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It might have some withdrawal symptoms.
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The purpose of that scenario is not so much on the baby,
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but more around the mother and how they talk with the mother.
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>> I feel terrible.
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>> I'm sorry you feel that way.
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The only part we're concerned
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about is her fussiness and stuff.
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So we're just going to have to monitor her
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through the withdrawal stages
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and make sure everything stays on track.
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But as far as we're concerned she looks like a healthy baby.
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>> Well actual clinical exposure,
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live clinical exposure is fantastic.
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We can't create a situation.
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So that is the big value is the flexibility.
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UITS really got this off the ground for us.
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So Bill Fields, our executive director, was lead,
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kind of startup communication with us, with this company.
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And they've been really instrumental helping us have the
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equipment that we need.
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At the IUPUC Simulation Center in Columbus, students in the IU School of Nursing practice their skills on high fidelity mannequins or actors in recorded scenarios, gaining invaluable experience in a safe learning space.
In 2018, the lab added virtual reality technology created by SimX to give students an immersive clinical experience. For Shannon Love, clinical assistant professor and director of the Simulation Center, the technology’s adaptability is imperative. “We’re able to create scenarios that our students might commonly see in a clinical environment, or may never see, and we want to give them that exposure,” Love said.
UITS identified the technology as an innovative direction for IUPUC, and an affordable, efficient replacement for the expensive and unwieldy mannequins. Another consideration was the ability to create scenarios specific to situations students might experience locally. In response to Indiana’s addiction crisis, the lab developed a neonatal abstinence syndrome scenario in which the student comforts a drug-addicted infant and counsels the mother, both virtual creations. That type of interaction is crucial to Love.
“Our entry-level students haven’t had a lot of interaction with a patient; this way, they can feel comfortable talking and feel free to make mistakes,” Love said.