Basildon Hospital pharmacist new way of training

Pharmacy trainees have been using virtual reality (VR) headsets to develop their skills at Basildon Hospital and help them to understand the needs of patients better.

The trainees using the headsets meet “virtual” patients, before then interacting with them.

This enables them to work out and learn how to respond to different scenarios as well as preparing them under safe conditions to care for patients in the real world.

The training course was arranged by Health Education England (HEE) to build on traditional teaching offered for trainee pharmacists.

While virtual reality is increasingly used in medical and clinical training, it is the first time that this has been applied to a simulated pharmacy in Essex.

Wilson Alvares, simulation lead at Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, added how this is also cost effective.

He said: “We already provide excellent training courses for our students and trainees, and I am excited that we are starting to offer virtual reality to develop their education further.

“This will help us to deliver cost-effective, standardised, and repeatable clinical training on demand.”

Thirteen trainees have taken part in this new teaching method and there are now plans to introduce virtual reality technology to teach other departments at Basildon Hospital in future.

Health Education England say it will also make virtual reality a core part of the foundation training for pharmacists.

The trainees will still continue their studies at training centres alongside virtual reality learning.

Dr Nkiruka Umaru, deputy head of pharmacy and post-registration lead at Health Education England, said this will improve the care patients receive.

She said: “We are really pleased to have the opportunity to train our future pharmacists in mid and south Essex using the latest technology.

“This will equip them to handle different clinical situations in the real world and ultimately improve the care we give to our patients.”