The College of Animal Welfare (CAW) is excited to announce that all CAW veterinary nursing students have now been granted a free licence to download its new virtual reality (VR) software onto a VR headset to help with their OSCE preparation. This initiative is part of its ongoing commitment to provide innovative and forward-thinking ways to support students in their learning.
The new technology has been trialled at the College by selected groups of students over the past year and is now being rolled out to all diploma and undergraduate students,
Final year BSc Veterinary Nursing student, Heather Bruce, is one of the students who has experienced the software, ‘The VR headsets have been a great addition to my revision for my final year exams. They have allowed me to practice OSCE tasks at any time from the comfort of my own home. The headsets are simple and easy to use, giving me confidence that I am still able to revise my practical skills, even if I am not in practice.’
A team of developers have meticulously designed the software to simulate various OSCE scenarios covering both small animal and equine tasks used in OSCE examinations. This provides students with an opportunity to practice and hone their clinical skills in a risk-free, immersive environment. The software not only teaches students the steps required to successfully pass each task, it also provides students with the ability to undertake mock tests and see how they perform, highlighting to them any steps they may have missed, to help with future learning.
Whilst it is not a mandatory part of the course, the licence will allow CAW students to access it free of charge for the duration of their programme should they have a VR headset and wish to utilise it.
Leslie Heaton-Smith, Vice-Principal of The College of Animal Welfare commented, ‘For someone like me who does not game the whole VR experience is an absolutely incredible experience!’ He added that ‘Interest has been high in licensing the system especially from overseas academic institutions and we have already started selling licenses.’
The College is proud to be leading the way in integrating virtual reality into veterinary nurse education and is looking forward to seeing the outcomes for its students of this exciting advancement.
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