  The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies has been extensively researched
in surgical and anatomical education. VR provides a lifelike and interactive
environment where healthcare providers can practice and refresh their skills in
a safe environment. VR has been shown to be as effective as traditional medical
education teaching methods, with the potential to provide more cost-effective
and convenient means of curriculum delivery, especially in rural and remote
areas or in environments with limited access to hands-on training. In this
sense, VR offers the potential to be used to support resuscitation training for
healthcare providers such as the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). The NRP
program is an evidence-based and standardized approach for training healthcare
providers on the resuscitation of the newborn. In this article, we describe a
VR simulation environment that was designed and developed to refresh the skills
of NRP providers. To validate this platform, we compared the VR-NRP simulation
with exposure to 360-degree immersive video. We found that both VR technologies
were positively viewed by healthcare professionals and performed very similarly
to each other. However, the VR simulation provided a significantly increased
feeling of presence. Furthermore, participants found the VR simulation more
useful, leading to improved experiential learning outcomes. Also, participants
using VR simulation reported higher confidence in certain NRP skills, such as
proper mask placement and newborn response evaluation. This research represents
a step forward in understanding how VR and related extended reality (XR)
technologies can be applied for effective, immersive medical education, with
potential benefits for remote and rural healthcare providers.
