Healthcare education is under pressure to train more people while maintaining the quality and safety of practice-based learning.
In New York, approved nursing programmes can now deliver up to one-third of clinical education through simulation. The policy is intended to ease a capacity problem: when hospitals and clinics have limited availability for student placements, institutions can train fewer future healthcare professionals.
Building Capacity Without Replacing Clinical Practice
Jason Coley, Founding Director of the Center for Academic Innovation at Maria College, says virtual simulation can help relieve that bottleneck when it is integrated into an established education pathway rather than treated as a standalone technology project.
Speaking to UC Today, Coley explained that Maria College uses virtual reality, extended reality and AI-driven patient simulations alongside classroom teaching, skills labs and high-fidelity mannequin-based scenarios.
The technology can give students repeatable opportunities to practise clinical procedures, communication and decision-making in a lower-pressure setting. It can also help make complex subjects, such as anatomy, more accessible by allowing learners to explore the human body spatially rather than relying solely on lectures or textbook images.
Virtual simulations can capture information that is difficult to track consistently in conventional sessions. Faculty can review whether a student completed required actions in the correct sequence, while AI-based patient scenarios can help assess communication and interpersonal skills.
