A graduate BSN student, Mi Young Lim, and I wrote in 2005 an outline for an AW role-playing game. Mi Young is originally from
Korea and understood the difficulties in transitioning from Korean to American hospital culture. We thought that a game which would allow for the foreign nurse to experience cultural differences from the safety of a computer screen would be highly beneficial. Games can create a realistic experience for the player. But, a game can also soften the embarrassment one feels when faced with cultural differences.
Misunderstanding what we were trying to do, we were told that this would take over a million dollars to develop. The people who said this had little concept of what was possible in a virtual social world. I think it would have been fairly easy to develop our concept all we needed was time, a little money and real people! We were not trying to build World of Warcraft for Nurses.
Having spent time in SL and experiencing the multi-cultural nature of this virtual world, I am more convinced that SL lends itself readily to the creation of role-playing games like the one we proposed. These could make acculturation an easier transition. Looking at the proliferation of language tutors and courses in SL the acculturation process may be one step away. Yes it would only be a game, but a game can teach so much.
I offer below our first basic outline of Project Min. Hopefully it will spark others to thing of ways to use vr for education.
The images included came from a mock up we created in AW.
The Virtual Learning Commons for Foreign Nurses
(THE MIN PROJECT)
The concept behind the Virtual Learning Commons for Foreign Nurses is to provide the foreign nurse wishing to study or work in America with as realistic an experience of this country’s culture and life as possible before endeavoring to come to America. The VLCFN will work from a virtual 3-D environment to provide this experience across the Internet to the student sitting in the safety of their home, dorm or library. During the process the nurse will be tested, evaluated and their progress assessed through assignments, quizzes, and social interactions with characters in the virtual world.
The core of the VLCFN will be the environment of the Virtual Hospital. Here the nurse will interact with virtual patients, patient family members, other healthcare workers, nurses and doctors (role-played by real people on-line). In this simulated environment they can experience the life and culture of an American hospital.
The nurse will not only be evaluated on their social interactions, but also on their time management abilities and their medical knowledge. The student will need to negotiate through a wide series of challenges. They would need to understand and demonstrate their ability to live and work in an American hospital.
We have envisioned a role playing course which would take the foreign nurse through a variety of virtual locations and cultural experiences in and out of the hospital. The character in this role play can be any international student but for an example we will name her Min. She arrives in America or Canada to work as a nurse. She may choose to attend a university or she may strike out completely on her own. The important things that Min must demonstrate is her ability to understand how American’s “do things.”
As part of the role play she must write of her experiences in a journal. This writing can be things about her dreams, curiosities about the new culture and the challenges with her everyday life. The journal will be evaluated by instructors to help guide the student’s growth in adapting to their new culture.
Her 30 to 60 days in the Virtual America can be a series of role playing exercises which we have outlined below:
1. Personal Life (Series No.1)
- Min's biography
- Min's dream to become an American nurse
- Receiving an American education
- A first visit to an American hospital
- Making an American friend
- Talking, eating, and relaxing with Americans
- Life in a multi-cultural society
2. Finding a Job in a new Culture (Series No. 2)
- making a resume and cover letter
- applying for a job
- by phone
- via the internet
- in person
- the interview process
- accepting the job offer
- negotiating salary and benefits
3. The American Hospital or Nursing Home: Dealing with the Professions’ Life and Culture
(Series No. 3)
- Hospital Culture and Life
- etiquette of an American hospital
- psychological sense of time
- greeting people
- manners, politeness, rudeness
- clothes to wear
- social life
- American doctors
- calling the doctor
- the correct way of reporting to the doctor
- what to do if the doctor is wrong
- Other healthcare providers
- dealing with fellow nurses (American and internationals)
- dealing with the pharmacy, nutritionists, cleaning crew, administration
- delegating to subordinates (nursing assistants, orderlies)
- responding to unexpected incidents
- handling disagreements
- handling a personal error
- socializing on the job
- The patients
- social interaction with American patients
- dealing with family members
- the difficult patient
- emergency situations
4. Nursing in an American Hospital (Practical aspects, the science of nursing) (Series No. 4)
- evaluating medical situations
- prioritizing
- knowing medications
- physical assessment
- understanding treatment plans
- dealing with the work load
- dealing with an unfair schedule
- dealing with other's bodies (washing, touching, examining)
- transferring patients
- pre- and post- operation care
- pain control
- precaution / preventive
- Dealing with high risk infectious diseases (HIV, hepatitis B)
- wound care
- applying nursing equipment
- indwelling cath.
- drainage cath.
- peripherial IV
- central lines
- blood transfusion
The Virtual Learning Commons will contain everything that the foreign nurse would need to prepare them for life, study and work in America. The nurse would have access to on-line journals, books and indexes to help them prepare for their profession.
While the current course concept focuses on nurses, the concept can be used for a variety of foreign professionals wanting to live and work in the United States. While learning English is important for any foreign student wanting to work in this country, the nuances of culture can take many years to grasp. VLCFN or any possible professional virtual environment would be a first step in evaluating the possible success of individuals coming to America.
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