Occupational therapy students' perceived preparedness and confidence to utilize virtual reality technology in their future practice, 2024

Virtual reality (VR) in healthcare has been proven to improve patients' physical and cognitive functions. Limited research has been done on occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy students' perceptions and knowledge of VR’s usability for OT practice. Students’ perceived confidence and preparedness are essential when using VR technology safely and effectively to fill a knowledge gap. This doctoral capstone project emphasized the importance of experiential education and interactive learning through an e-learning module and hands-on lab activities to improve Monmouth University's (MU) occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students' perceived confidence and preparedness in using VR technology in clinical practice. The methods were providing an e-learning module and hands-on learning lab activities with VR technology to the first-year OTD students as preparations for OT practice. The e-learning module consisted of evidence-based information, protocols, and video demonstrations of the VR technology. The hands-on lab activities consisted of demonstrations, simulations, performance feedback, and case studies using VR technology. A phenomenological qualitative data collection using an open-ended self-report questionnaire, emphasizing critical reflection was utilized for data analysis and representation. Through their positive responses, all students gained confidence and preparedness to operate the VR technology as OT students. This study proved the importance of experiential learning when using VR technology safely and effectively to improve the confidence and preparedness of OT students or OT clinicians when applying for clinical practice.

Keywords: virtual reality, experiential learning, e-learning, clinical simulation, occupational performance, cognitive performance, physical performance, confidence and preparedness, occupational therapy students, occupational therapy.