Virtual Reality-based Training for Safe Medication Administration Among Nursing Students

NCT07711873 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 3413-DHYD-HDDD2021-00020-3
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study evaluated a virtual reality-based training programme designed to support safe medication administration among undergraduate nursing students. Medication administration is a core nursing competency, but students often have limited opportunities to practise medication safety scenarios repeatedly before entering clinical settings. Virtual reality provides an immersive and repeatable simulated environment for practising routine, high-alert, and semi-emergency medication administration scenarios without risk to patients. Third- and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students at a healthcare university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were randomly allocated to two groups. Group A received the VR training first, while Group B served as a wait-list comparison group and received the same training later, after crossover. The intervention consisted of three 90-minute sessions, each including pre-briefing, immersive VR simulation, and PEARLS-informed debriefing. Outcomes included confidence in medication administration, self-reported safe medication practice, system usability, and cybersickness symptoms.

Conditions

Patient Safety; Medication Errors; Education, Nursing

Keywords

Virtual reality; Simulation training; Medication administration; Nursing students; Confidence; Usability; Cybersickness

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Confidence in medication administration

  Confidence in medication administration was measured using a 6-item self-report scale. Each item was rated from 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (extremely confident). Total scores range from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating greater confidence.

  Baseline (before any training); approximately 5 weeks after baseline (about 1 week after Group A completed VR training, while Group B remained on the wait-list); approximately 3 months after baseline (about 1 week after Group B completed VR training).

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Self-reported safe medication practice

  Baseline (before any training); approximately 5 weeks after baseline (about 1 week after Group A completed VR training, while Group B remained on the wait-list); approximately 3 months after baseline (about 1 week after Group B completed VR training).

• System usability

  Approximately 1 week after each group completed VR training (approximately 5 weeks after baseline for Group A and approximately 3 months after baseline for Group B).

• Cybersickness symptoms

  Approximately 1 week after each group completed VR training (approximately 5 weeks after baseline for Group A and approximately 3 months after baseline for Group B).

Study Arms (2)

Group A (VR training first)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received the VR-based medication administration training first. They completed three 90-minute sessions before Group B received training. Outcomes were assessed at baseline (before any training), approximately one week after this group completed training, and again approximately one week after Group B completed training (short-term follow-up).

Behavioral: VR-based medication administration training (AcroXeR NursingVR)

Group B (delayed VR training, wait-list)

OTHER

Participants served as a wait-list control and received no VR training during the initial period, while Group A was trained. After crossover, they received the same VR-based medication administration training (three 90-minute sessions). Outcomes were assessed at baseline (before any training), approximately one week after Group A completed training (while this group was still on the wait-list), and approximately one week after this group completed training.

Behavioral: VR-based medication administration training (AcroXeR NursingVR)

Interventions

VR-based medication administration training (AcroXeR NursingVR) BEHAVIORAL

The intervention consisted of three 90-minute VR-based medication administration training sessions covering routine, high-alert, and semi-emergency medication administration scenarios. Each session included pre-briefing, immersive VR simulation, and PEARLS-informed debriefing.

Group A (VR training first); Group B (delayed VR training, wait-list)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Enrolled as a third- or fourth-year undergraduate nursing student during the study period
• Aged 18 years or older

You may not qualify if:

• Health condition contraindicating virtual reality use
• On academic leave during the study period
• Unable to attend the scheduled study sessions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City: lead
• Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

Location

Study Officials

• Linh Thuy Khanh Tran, PhD

  University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Senior lecturer, School of Nursing and Medical Technology

Model Details: This was a two-arm randomized wait-list crossover trial. Group A received the VR-based medication administration training first, while Group B served as a wait-list comparison group and received no training during that initial period, then received the same VR training after crossover. Outcomes were assessed for both groups at three points: at baseline before any training; approximately one week after Group A completed training (while Group B was still on the wait-list); and approximately one week after Group B completed training.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2026
• First Posted: July 17, 2026
• Study Start: November 25, 2024
• Primary Completion: March 8, 2025
• Study Completion: March 8, 2025
• Last Updated: July 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: Beginning 6 months after publication and available for 3 years.
• Access Criteria: Requests will be considered from qualified researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for academic, non-commercial research purposes. Data sharing will be subject to approval by the corresponding author, the study investigators, and the participating institution. A data use agreement may be required where applicable.

Locations

VN (1)