Training isn’t effective unless it seems real. In emergency scenarios, highly charged situations can draw out the weaknesses in even the strongest of medical professionals. And weaknesses aren’t necessarily a bad thing, unless expressed in the wrong moment. In a new trend of training techniques, an unsteady definition of immersive training takes center stage. With multiple solutions to what “immersion” might mean, SensoryCo is taking a closer look at their own version of reality for medical training.
As virtual reality becomes a popular solution, training facilities are utilizing these innovative technologies to create emergencies medical professional will likely encounter at some point in their career. These virtual realities can teach a lot, but the distance between the screen and real life will never be bridged unless elements of reality start to weave themselves into the picture. With newer technologies that build an environment, rather than a reactive screen, weaknesses and mistakes are naturally drawn out.
Immersion is about painting a persuasive argument, one in which the person participating believes. It’s about telling a captivating story, where the boundaries of training melt and strength is found. In a recent study published at the University of New Mexico, versions of 3D immersive virtual environments are part of the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity. These solutions express the downfalls of virtual realities, and instead ask for a more simulated environment with technologies that produce smoke, fog and fire effects.
In our own experience with immersive training, it doesn’t stop there. Incorporating scenting generators, along with smoke, fire and fog effects, into simulated environments not only introduces medical trainees to versions of the world they will be soon participating in, but exposes them to some of the harshest conditions. In these simulations, weakness turns into lessons, and strength is found in the building blocks of experience.
As technology progresses, utilizing these elements to re-create reality is paramount to an immersive training environment that creates measurable improvements. In the end, life is our greatest teacher. And greatest destroyer. The choice is made in the training.