NextGen Nurse is our project to improve how nursing is taught through the use of immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. We focus on helping educators create more practical and engaging learning experiences, where students can safely develop clinical skills, practise decision-making, and build confidence before entering real healthcare settings.
We develop and test these approaches in real teaching environments to ensure they are effective, relevant, and easy to apply. We provide educators with practical methods and tools that connect theory with hands-on learning, helping prepare nursing students for the challenges of modern healthcare and evolving clinical practice.
Nursing education is under increasing pressure to prepare students for complex, fast-changing healthcare environments. While theoretical knowledge remains essential, many students have limited opportunities to practise clinical skills in safe and controlled settings before entering real placements. This can affect confidence, decision-making, and readiness for practice.
At the same time, healthcare systems are becoming more digital, and expectations of nursing professionals are evolving. Educators need new ways to support hands-on learning, build practical competence, and reflect real-world scenarios without increasing risk for patients. Immersive technologies offer a strong opportunity to address this, but they are not yet widely or consistently used in structured ways within nursing education.
NextGen Nurse will identify and analyse practical ways immersive technologies can be used in nursing education. This includes mapping key use cases where XR can support clinical training, decision-making, and skills development, giving educators clear examples of what works and where it adds value.
A structured framework will be developed to help educators and institutions understand how to use XR effectively. It will link learning objectives with technology use, making it easier to measure impact on student learning, engagement, and clinical competency.
The project will create and test immersive learning resources in real teaching environments. These will allow students to practise clinical scenarios in safe, controlled settings, helping improve confidence, practical skills, and readiness for real-world healthcare situations.
An evaluation study will assess how XR changes teaching and learning in practice. It will explore improvements in student engagement, learning outcomes, and educator experience, providing clear evidence to support wider adoption in nursing education.
