Empowering Nurses Through Innovation: The Virtual Nurse Project

I have been a nurse since 1999, dedicating most of my career to perioperative nursing within Spain’s public health system, SESCAM. Since 2017, I’ve been working on an innovative project called Virtual Nurse, which I recently presented at the AORN 2024 Congress in Nashville.

Virtual Nurse is an immersive and interactive virtual reality software designed to train both nursing students and professionals in the perioperative environment. By using virtual reality glasses and haptic gloves, nurses can simulate real surgical scenarios, allowing them to gain practical experience without the need for a real patient or team. This tool aims to provide the same level of learning as real-life training, offering the opportunity to experience a variety of surgical interventions and situations in a highly realistic environment.

The project is currently in the funding phase, with the goal of completing the software’s programming. This initiative is particularly important because, in Spain, there is no formal system for training or specializing perioperative nurses, unlike in the United States. Despite the high level of experience and skill among Spanish perioperative nurses, we must juggle multiple roles—surgical instrumentation, non-sterile care, and anesthesia support. The Spanish Association of Surgical Nurses (AEEQ) is working to address this issue, and I believe Virtual Nurse can play a key role in shaping the future of our profession.

I have always been passionate about how human beings can heal from illness and live longer with a better quality of life. This interest began in childhood, though I didn’t fully realize it until I was 17 and decided to dedicate myself to the care of others. I pursued this passion by studying nursing at the University of Castilla La Mancha in Spain. After completing my studies, I lived in Lisbon, focusing on perioperative care, and upon returning to Spain, I primarily worked in surgical environments. The role of a nurse here is complex and highly technical, with a strong emphasis on directly solving the patient’s illness and improving their condition.

The idea for Virtual Nurse came to me due to the growing complexity and innovation in surgical techniques. As operating room nurses, we must constantly stay updated, especially in Spain, where we take on multiple roles that are specialized in other countries. After researching practical and technical learning methods, I realized that immersive virtual reality would be the perfect tool to improve knowledge, update skills, and practice techniques in a safe environment. It provides the same brain responses and learning experiences as being in a real operating room, without the need for live patients.

Developing Virtual Nurse is important to me because it offers real training for new nurses and those looking to update their skills. Neuroscience shows that the brain behaves differently when a situation has been previously experienced, which is key to improving performance. This tool will help nurses act with the confidence and skill of a professional with years of experience, improving the safety of both the team and the patient. Additionally, my goal is to validate this software as a tool that could be used to specialize perioperative nurses in Spain.

I encourage all nurses to take an interest in perioperative care, and I hope that once Virtual Nurse is available, it will be a valuable tool for them to develop their skills in this critical environment.