Exploring the role of immersive virtual reality simulation to enhance compassionate interprofessional collaboration

Effective interprofessional collaboration (IPC) enhances patient care outcomes (safety) and experiences (quality of care), optimizes participation in clinical decision making, and fosters respect of disciplinary contributions. During COVID-19, interprofessional learnings across health and social care disciplines point to the importance of enhancing interprofessional education opportunities to build effective IPC. Despite provincial and national recommendations to move toward and invest in community-based health care, the majority of IPC literature and frameworks center on a single organization, or team, coordinating efforts. Significant potential lies in the application of immersive virtual reality simulation (IVRS) to support enactment of IPC for those collaborating across organizations in community and primary-based health care, affording repeatable experiential learning opportunities to learn collaboratively within and across disciplines. Vanessa’s project seeks to promote understanding of compassionate IPC through an IVRS offered to health and social care students and health care providers.