O2 Team skills development using a gamified virtual reality ‘VR Team Talk’ workshop

Introduction Gamified Virtual Reality (VR) is a part of simulation education tools used in healthcare education to teach technical skills such as laparoscopy, arthroscopy, ophthalmology etc. However, gamified VR does not appear to be part of non-technical skills education such as effective team communication. Through a series of novel workshops called ‘VR Team Talk’, a VR game ‘Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes’ has been used to train multidisciplinary, varied seniority and work experience healthcare teams in effective communication. Our primary aim is to present workshop attendees’ opinions and perceptions on gamified VR as a learning technology that for teaching effective communication and the implications for healthcare quality, value, and safety. The secondary aim is to present the feasibility of setting up gamified workshops as part of healthcare simulation education. Methods VR Team Talk workshops were delivered over 3 months in Torbay hospital’s ICU staff room, attended by teams of up to 5 staff members each (figure 1). Sessions were facilitated by a clinician who explained the game and workshop purpose. Upon completion of the game, the facilitator debriefed the workshop attendees, exploring the importance of effective team communication during the game and similarities with healthcare work settings. Feedback was collected from the workshop attendees to get an insight into whether VR Team Talk is an effective education tool. The total workshop turnout was 50, feedback was received from 45 participants. Results Following qualitative feedback (table 1) of workshop attendees’ opinions and perceptions, we conclude that gamified VR may be an effective immersive learning tool and become part of the simulation education programme. The workshops were widely perceived to be an effective modality for educating healthcare teams on the importance of team communication. In addition to the feedback, we were able to develop guidance around the feasibility of setting up similar gamified VR workshops within healthcare education settings. Discussion and Conclusion Effective team communication is critical within healthcare teams. Lack of training in this area may lead to errors that have serious implications on patient safety and outcomes (Sevdalis, 2013; Khan et al., 2017). VR gaming workshops are easy to set up and facilitate. VR provides safe environments for practice, which when paired with debriefing can have implications on long term knowledge retention (Rosenkrantz et al., 2019). As this is a new and upcoming area of study, we will be conducting longitudinal research to study implications on staff team behaviours. References Khan R, et al. Simulation-based training of non-technical skills in colonoscopy: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols 2017;6(8):p. e153. doi: 10.2196/resprot.7690. Rosenkrantz O, et al. Priming healthcare students on the importance of non-technical skills in healthcare: How to setup a medical escape room game experience. Medical Teacher ( 2019):pp. 1–8. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2019.1636953. Sevdalis N. Non-technical skills and the future of teamwork in healthcare settings. The Health Foundation( 2013).