Purpose of the Study: This investigation will examine whether a brief session with an immersive virtual-reality headset can prepare critical-care nurses to carry out an eleven-step extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit check as accurately and as quickly as the standard narrated training video that clinicians normally watch at the bedside. Who Will Take Part: Two groups of volunteers will be enrolled. Eight senior clinicians who already have at least five years of extracorporeal membrane oxygenator experience will test the simulator so that investigators can confirm its realism and educational relevance. In a separate arm, forty-four intensive-care or cardiothoracic nurses with no prior ECMO training or ECMO patient care experience. How Participants Will Be Assigned: Nurses will be allocated by computer in a one-to-one ratio either to the virtual-reality session or to the video. Because the assignment sequence will be generated in advance and concealed inside a secure web form, neither facilitators nor learners will be able to predict the next allocation. The two examiners who will judge each live circuit check will not be told which training each nurse received. What Will Happen During the Study: Experts will first complete a single virtual-reality scenario that guides them through the eleven checks on a simulated circuit. Immediately afterward they will rate the experience with the standard Usefulness Satisfaction and Ease-of-Use questionnaire. Nurses will then receive their assigned training. The virtual-reality group will spend fifteen minutes practising the checklist inside a standalone headset, while the video group will watch a seven-minute narrated recording that mirrors the usual bedside demonstration. After training every nurse will complete a real circuit check on a primed wet circuit. A blinded examiner will watch the procedure, score each of the eleven checklist items, and time the task from start to finish. Measurements the Researchers Will Use: For nurses the primary measurements will be the number of checklist items missed and the total time needed to finish the procedure. For experts the main measurements will be their ratings of realism, usefulness, and ease of use. Investigators will also explore the link between the kind of training received and performance during the wet-lab task to confirm whether the simulator provides valid learning. Where and For How Long the Study Will Run The investigation will take place at two university medical centres in the Netherlands. Each participant's involvement will last no longer than one day, and the entire study is expected to be completed within twelve months of first enrolment. How Many People Will Take Part and Why: Statistical calculations show that twenty-two nurses in each arm will give more than eighty-five per cent power to detect one missed checklist item between groups when the type-one error rate is five per cent. Allowing for potential withdrawals, forty-four novices and eight experts will be recruited. Why the Study Design Matters: By combining an expert validation phase with a randomised, assessor-blinded trial in novices, the study will determine both the realism of the virtual-reality simulator and its ability to improve real-world performance.
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Number of Missed Items During the ECMO Circuit Check
Timeframe: Assessment performed immediately after the conclusion of the VR or conventional training.
Time Needed to Complete the Eleven Step ECMO Circuit Check
Timeframe: Assessment performed immediately after the conclusion of the VR or conventional training.