Education. A ward round, seen from inside the simulation: a patient reclines in bed beside a floating prompt panel, city towers visible through the window.

Clinical communication simulation training for universities

For simulation centres and clinical educators: rehearse the conversation, prebrief it, debrief it, assess it.

The moment

Start with what students need to practise

A student explains uncertainty to a frightened family. Another escalates a concern to a senior clinician. Define the conversation, the curriculum outcome and the assessment purpose before choosing a headset, a browser or an actor.

A student wearing a headset reaches carefully toward the arm of a simulated elderly patient in a ward bay. — A student reaches toward a patient’s arm in a ward bay.

A nurse educator briefs a nursing student in a simulation laboratory, one of them wearing a headset. — A nurse educator briefs a student in the simulation lab.

Two clinical staff face each other in a corridor, one wearing a headset. — Two clinical staff face each other in a corridor.

The standards

What simulation standards and nursing regulators say

Professional standards shape how simulation is run. Regulators decide what it can count toward. Each applies at its own scope.

A practice person stands by a clinical bed. A first person VR training scenario for what is mixed reality, seen through the headset. — A practice patient beside a clinical bed, seen through the headset.

International: INACSL standards

The INACSL Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice cover preparation, facilitation, professional integrity and debriefing, and connect scenario design with measurable objectives. They are professional standards; they do not authorise placement substitution or accredit a product.

An older man attends a clinic with family. A first person VR training scenario for healthcare, seen through the headset. — An older man attends a clinic with family, seen through the headset.

United States: the study, the guidelines, the board

The NCSBN National Simulation Study examined replacing clinical experience in prelicensure nursing under specified conditions, and the NCSBN simulation guidelines cover readiness and faculty preparation. What counts is set by each state board of nursing.

Education. A veterinary consult, rehearsed in the headset: a student handles instruments at the table while an experienced vet observes, gum trees outside the window. — A student rehearses a consult while an experienced practitioner observes.

Washington: format affects clinical credit

Washington’s nursing rule lets eligible programs use an enhanced simulation-to-clinical conversion under conditions. Screen-based simulation cannot use it; immersive virtual or augmented reality may qualify when synchronously facilitated.

A midwife leans toward a new mother. A VR training scenario for healthcare. — A midwife leans toward a new mother.

Australia: simulation prepares students for placement

ANMAC’s evidence guide for the Registered Nurse Accreditation Standards expects simulated learning to prepare students for professional experience placement, and the placement minimum excludes simulation. Enrolled nursing has its own standards.

A clinician sits with a young woman outside. A VR training scenario for healthcare. — A clinician sits with a young woman outside.

New Zealand: check the program’s approval

The Nursing Council’s 2024 education standards announcement excludes simulation from the clinical-hour minima for registered and enrolled nursing. Confirm the requirements attached to the program’s own approval.

The evidence

Built with a university, evaluated by the people who ran it

Each result is labelled by who produced it.

A participant wearing a headset stands at the end of a boardroom table, addressing four seated simulated colleagues of different ages. — A participant addresses four seated colleagues.

Co-designed with Cornell University

Everyday Inclusion, on unconscious bias, microaggressions and intersectionality, was co-designed with Cornell University and Angela Winfield. Read the Cornell case study.

Inside the Mater build: an older patient sits up in a hospital bed, a meal tray across the blanket, curtains drawn beside him. — Inside the Mater build, at a hospital bedside.

Client evaluation: Mater Education

Mater Education rebuilt its Speaking with Good Judgement program in VR. In Mater’s own closure report, 90% of participants reported better concentration and 77% found the scenarios more engaging than face-to-face delivery. Read the case study.

Download the Mater case study PDF

A nurse leader wearing a headset stands in a ward corridor facing two simulated colleagues, one of whom has looked away. — A nurse leader faces two colleagues in a ward corridor.

Published research: a Mayo Clinic DEI program for nurse leaders

In the Mayo Clinic evaluation of a VR diversity, equity and inclusion program People Tech Revolution built for nurse leaders, 91.9% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed they achieved the learning objectives and 90.3% agreed or strongly agreed the debrief was effective. Self-reported; 593 of 1,131 learners responded.

Designing the session

Four planning prompts for a simulation team

Planning aids for the prebrief, the scenario, the debrief and the assessment.

An adult learner practises during a tutorial session. A first person VR training scenario for education, seen through the headset. — An adult learner practises in a tutorial.

Prepare the prebrief

Record learner stage, prior knowledge, the communication objective, roles, case boundaries, accessibility needs, pause arrangements and assessment status. Name who responds if a learner becomes distressed or the system fails.

An adult sits facing a floating head-and-shoulders presence of a clinician digital twin, framed in soft pale light, rehearsing a healthcare conversation. — An adult faces a clinician digital twin.

Specify the scenario

Record the setting, the patient or whānau perspective, what is uncertain and the decision point. Assign clinical and cultural reviewers. If AI generates dialogue, set permitted variation, prohibited content and how the facilitator steps in.

A lecturer and student talk in the hallway. A VR training scenario for education. — A lecturer and a student talk in the hallway.

Plan the debrief

Decide who facilitates, which observations prompt discussion and how learners explain their reasoning. Finish with a practice intention and a chance to rehearse again. See the scenario and debrief guide.

A prosthetic-armed supervisor talks with a research student. A VR training scenario for education. — A supervisor checks in with a research student.

Define the assessment evidence

Formative or summative, observable criteria, assessor preparation, moderation, reasonable adjustments and reassessment. Before using an automated score, ask for evidence that supports its intended use.

How it runs