A state-of-the-art multisensory environment, with projectors displaying a virtual environment, while a patient in a gurney is ready for care.

Nursing Immersive Suite–UMass Boston’s Nursing Program raises the bar with innovative immersive learning

UMass Boston’s nursing program is top of the line, and one of the reasons for that is the commitment to engaging students in dynamic and innovative ways. A new project is set to change the game entirely by creating an immersive nursing suite that can simulate real-world settings using state-of-the-art technology. “The rooms are multisensory, engaging, and realistic,” says Zack Ronald, Manager of Innovative Education Technology. “This space will have some extremely innovative, and first in New England technologies.” 

Inspiration Behind the Immersive Suite

The project started when administrators at the Manning School of Nursing and Health Sciences noticed the plethora of post-COVID 19 federal funding opportunities being offered to institutions providing training to home health care providers. They put together a proposal asking for $5 million, received $3 million, and set out to build a physical apartment where nursing students could go in and act like they were working in a home. But after Rosemary Samia, Clinical Lecturer and Director of the Center for Clinical Education & Research, went to a conference presentation on immersive virtual technology, the plan shifted. 

A Vision for Next-Gen Nursing Education

“The idea for the immersive suite at UMass Boston was inspired by a growing trend in healthcare education to use advanced simulation and virtual reality to enhance clinical training,” Samia explains. “Recognizing the need for nursing students to engage with realistic, high-stakes scenarios in a controlled, low-risk environment, we wanted to push beyond traditional simulation methods. Our goal was to create a space where students can fully immerse themselves in patient care situations that extend outside of the hospital environment.”

Building the Suite: A High-Tech Transformation 

The immersive space has a target opening date of Spring 2025, but much progress has already been made toward preparing the suite. Campus Master Planning was able to find a location that was being underutilized by the parking and transportation office on campus, clearing out space in the Quinn Building. The existing rooms were turned into two 14×14 white boxes with a ceiling packed full of technology—speakers, microphones, projectors—where a variety of simulations could be run. While the makeshift apartment that was originally intended would only be able to provide one kind of training, the immersive space can simulate many different settings and scenarios, such as how to respond at a crash scene or how to work in an emergency room. “It also helps normalize the experience amongst students. We can put them all in exactly the same situation,” says Dennis Swinford, Director of Campus Master Planning.

Cutting-Edge Design, No VR Headsets Needed

There is also no need for wiring or eyewear, explains Swinford. “All four walls and the floor, there are projections on them. And lasers run through the walls, so you are able to walk up to them and interact with things projected on the wall,” he says. Not requiring headsets in itself provides multiple benefits. For instance, because eye contact is important for certain types of patient care, being able to maintain eye contact with a human and not an avatar is helpful. Plus, virtual reality headsets can cause nausea or disorientation in some individuals and limits the number of people who can enter the simulation to the number of available headsets.  

A Fully Immersive Learning Experience

“The rooms are multisensory, engaging, and realistic,” notes Ronald, who was the IT lead on the project. “The Immersive Space will include two 6-projector rooms with 360-plus-floor immersive experiences that will transport students to anywhere in the world along with cameras and microphones to capture the student experience.” There are also going to be adjacent debriefing rooms, wherein students can observe what is happening in the simulation rooms. Instructors will be able to record students in those rooms and communicate back and forth between the simulation room and the debriefing ones. UMass Boston has partnered with Echo Healthcare to bring the immersive nursing suite to life, and everything from the color of the walls to the noise level of the HVAC was taken into consideration for optimal performance of the simulations. Even the door hinges were considered, so that they are completely flat and do not allow for shadows when the doors are closed.   

A New Standard for Nursing Education

According to Samia, while American nursing schools have started to implement similar technology, UMass Boston is setting itself apart as one of the first New England schools to incorporate a fully immersive room that projects images onto all walls and the floor. “This sets us apart from many other programs, offering our students a unique and cutting-edge learning environment that few schools in the area currently provide,”
she says. “Digital solutions and innovative tools are increasingly used in patient care. By integrating immersive technology, we are not only keeping pace with industry changes but also setting a new standard for nursing education. It also keeps students up to date with an evolving healthcare landscape where the delivery of nursing care outside of the hospital settings is increasing.”