The Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality Simulation in Conducting Postpartum Physical Examinations for Nursing Students

Abstract

Postpartum maternal examination is a mandatory procedure performed on women who have given birth; failure to perform this examination can lead to the risk of long-term complications. Therefore, it is important for education providers to ensure the quality of nursing graduates by equipping students with an understanding of detection and screening skills, particularly in postpartum maternal physical examination. The aim of this study is to design, implement, and analyze the results of students' experiences in using virtual reality to gain an immersive understanding of postpartum physical examination techniques in maternity nursing. This research method uses a one-group pre-test post-test experimental design with a random sampling technique on 20 nursing students. The virtual reality (VR) media developed for this study passed a black-box test with 100% functionality. Product validity testing was also conducted by content experts and media experts, with results meeting valid criteria. User experience was evaluated using the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) among 20 respondents. Results showed that 56% of respondents rated the experience as “Very Good” and 44% as “Good.” This development indicates that VR is highly effective in creating an immersive and independent nursing practice environment, providing benefits and bridging the gap between skill-laboratory practice and the skills students gain during clinical practice. There’s a clear benefit from implementing virtual reality for postpartum physical examination training among nursing students with clear significant improvement in skills.