We had the opportunity to speak with Jackie Phaneuf, MSN-Ed, RN, CNOR, OR Clinical Educator,to delve into the successful integration of PeriopSim into OR curricula at her facility in Washington DC, USA. Jackie shared her valuable insights into how she effectively incorporated PeriopSim.

In the world of surgical technology education, simulation has become a popular tool for preparing students for the operating room environment. However, with the onset of COVID-19, simulation has become even more important as traditional hands-on training has been limited. That's where PeriopSim comes in.

Boston Children's Hospital's Cardiovascular Operating Room (CVOR) wanted to expand its capacity to train new surgical scrub personnel through simulation.  After reviewing the adult modules in PeriopSim, they saw the value of the approach—scrub trainees could memorize instruments and learn procedures without burdening instructors, OR space, or equipment.

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is “How do we cast what the VR user is seeing to an external monitor?”.  When casting from your headset, the VR user can share what they see in VR wirelessly, making it a more inclusive experience for all involved. The VR view will appear on the external device you choose, allowing a user to share their VR experience in real time.  

As in any operating room environment, or classroom for that matter, one of the most critical areas to pay attention to is sanitization. Running a VR training program means that sharing is often involved. There’s no getting around the fact that everyone is covered in sweat and oil. Because of this, it’s important to keep the headsets as clean as possible.

We sat down and asked Educator Jessica Reed from Indianapolis, Indiana a few questions and this is what she had to say.  

We really enjoyed sitting down to connect with Megan Graham, CST/RST Surgical Technologist Program, Primary Instructor at Renton Technical College in Renton, WA.