Authors: Michael D. Bumbach, PhD, RN, ARNP, Beth A. Culross, PhD, RN, GCRN, CRRN, Santanu K. Datta, PhD, MBA

As nursing education adapts to changing educational needs, evaluating the financial sustainability and resource efficiency of simulation modalities is critical.

This retrospective case analysis utilized budget impact analysis methods to compare the costs of traditional high-fidelity manikin-based simulation against virtual reality (VR) simulation across categorized expenditure buckets. Results demonstrated that VR simulation education required 22% less total time to deliver than traditional high-fidelity simulation.

Financially, virtual reality simulation was found to be 40% less expensive overall than manikin-based simulation. The researchers concluded that virtual reality simulation represents a highly cost-effective, time-saving, and resource-conscious pedagogical alternative for nursing education programs seeking to maximize ROI without compromising educational quality.

The full research article can be found here.

University of Florida has used the SimX platform in its simulation training.