Audiovisual perception of nursing students in an ICU virtual environment

Medical devices for patient monitoring are simultaneous sound sources in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and only few persons are allowed to be in this sterile area These critical care activities with the restrictions in overall distinguish the acoustical condition of an ICU from other healthcare units For visitors and patients, the sounds in an ICU are often intimidating However, medical staffs are highly trained and therefore, able to adapt with the uncomfortable environment In Indonesia, undergraduate nursing students commonly experience the ICU clinical settings through a field trip Meanwhile, students training for nursing license will have a clinical rotation in an ICU for approximately two weeks Currently, with the pandemic Covid-19 situation, all these direct visits are no longer feasible A low-cost learning tool based on VR using a 360o video of an operating ICU as the virtual environment was developed as a solution Thirteen nursing students experienced the VR setting utilizing a VR glass and smartphone with headphones Their audiovisual perceptions were recorded using a list of questions and the results were compared to the responses of eight ICU nurses Both sample groups agreed that this learning tool can provide the experience being inside an ICU © Proceedings of 2020 International Congress on Noise Control Engineering, INTER-NOISE 2020 All rights reserved