Health Scholars Releases VR Solution for Pediatric Training

Health Scholars has launched Pediatric Emergency Care, a virtual reality (VR) training application specifically designed for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers and developed in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

In 2020 Health Scholars and AAP announced their partnership to leverage VR technology to deliver more engaging and impactful training opportunities. AAP and Health Scholars recognized a substantive gap in preparing EMS providers for pediatric emergencies. VR is an affordable and sustainable solution for educators and administrators who face ongoing budget issues and social distancing requirements due to the impact of Covid-19 and the new Delta variant.

Pediatric Emergency Care enables EMS providers to see, assess, and care for various disease states, including respiratory distress, respiratory failure, shock, and cardiopulmonary failure across a diverse set of pediatric patients. The on-demand training has providers complete four different in-home scenarios with a virtual EMS team. Each scenario is scored and provides an in-application debrief. Providers are asked to repeat scenarios until they reach a passing score indicating competency.

Jonathan Epstein MEMS, NRP, Health Scholars Director of Product and Strategy, notes: “We know that recognizing severe illness in infants and children is challenging, and it’s further compounded by limited exposure to pediatric emergencies. Unless EMS providers are frequently practicing, the nuanced skills needed to assess and treat children effectively decline over time, leading to significant readiness challenges. Today’s options fall short, but VR provides organizations a way to scale standardized and immersive pediatric competency training affordably.”

Health Scholars’ solution uses artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled voice technology to replicate real-time team and patient interaction. Instead of traditional point and click activities, providers can realistically practice critical cognitive skills like communication, teamwork, critical thinking and decision-making.