Deconstructing Healthcare Silos: Multi-player Virtual Reality for Interprofessional & Intraprofessional Education

Background: Current methods for interprofessional education (IPE) incorporating simulation for team training poses chal-lenges. Frequent challenges to traditional approaches include adequate time, resources, simulation space, equipment, and trained faculty. Multi-player virtual reality (VR) may be a so-lution. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional pilot study was com-pleted with eight pairs of intra-and interprofessional nursing and medical trainees (n=16). Study participants evaluated this multi-player VR experience for usability, effectiveness, and collaboration. The Interprofessional Collaboration Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS), System Usability Scale (SUS) and the Simulation Effectiveness Tool-Modified (SET-M) were used to evaluate participant experience. Results: Collaboration scores improved from pre-to post-simulation. The SET-M results were positive; participants rated the simulation experiences highly. The results from the SUS scale indicated that the participants found the system ef-fective.Conclusion: Multi-player VR is a viable option for IPE and intraprofessional education team training in healthcare. Further investigation into this modality should occur with larger sample sizes.