Adoption of Augmented Reality into educational program for nurses in Intensive Care Unit in Tertiary Academic Hospitals

Background: In the wake of challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to conventional medical education, the demand for innovative teaching methods has surged. Nurse training, with its focus on hands-on practice and self-directed learning, encountered significant hurdles with conventional approaches. This study explores the Augmented Reality (AR), as a potential solution. Objective: The study introduces an AR-based educational program designed for nurses, emphasizing its potential in facilitating hands-on practice and self-directed learning. Methods: This study introduced an AR-based educational program for nursing, anchored by Kern's six-step framework. First, we identified challenges in conventional teaching method through interviews and literature reviews. Interviews highlighted the need of hands-on practice and, selfdirected leaning on-site with feedback from remote site. Our Training goals of the platform were established by expert trainers and researchers, focusing on the utilization of ventilator and ECMO. Intensive care nurses were enrolled to evaluate AR education. Then, we assessed usability and acceptability using the System Usability Scale(SUS) and Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) with intensive care nurses who agreed to test the new platform. Additionally, selected participants provided deeper insights through semi-structured interviews. Results: This study presented feasibility and key considerations for implementing AR based educational program for intensive care unit nurses, focusing on training objectives of the platform. Implemented over two months using Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Guides and HoloLens 2, twentyeight participants were trained. Feedback, gathered through the trainers' and trainees' interviews, indicated a positive reception. Especially, trainees mentioned finding AR particularly useful for hands-on learning, appreciating its realism and the ability for repetitive practice. However, some challenges, such as difficulty adapting to the new technology, were expressed. Overall, AR exhibits potential as a supplementary tool in nurse education. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to substitute conventional methods with AR in this specific area of critical care nursing. These results indicate there are multiple principal factors to take into consideration when adopting AR education in hospitals. AR is effective in promoting selfdirected learning and hands-on practice, with participants displaying active engagement and enhanced skill acquisition.