(242) Walking in Their Shoes: Using Virtual Reality to Promote Empathy for Patients Among Student Pharmacists

Objective : To describe the implementation and outcomes of EmpathyVR, an immersive experience using virtual reality (VR) to promote empathy for patients with physical limitations due to chronic diseases.

Methods: Students in the first semester of their first year of the PharmD curriculum participated in a learning experience that incorporated VR and stiff gloves to simulate physical limitations associated with color blindness and arthritis. The VR application was developed in-house and launched in Fall 2022. Students completed pre- and post-intervention surveys that included the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale and measures of user enjoyment and perceived usefulness for learning. A focus group was also conducted with six students to obtain additional feedback on the learning experience.

Results: 131 of 132 students who were enrolled in the program completed the learning experience. Six students elected not to complete the VR component of the activity and completed a low-fidelity color blindness simulation instead. There was a significant improvement in empathy in the cognitive domain (perspective-taking) from pre- to post-intervention (p <.001). Post-intervention survey results also demonstrated high levels of students’ self-reported enjoyment (62% ranked the activity as “very enjoyable”, 27% said “somewhat enjoyable”) and perceived usefulness of the activity to support learning (84% ranked it "very" or "extremely" useful). Focus group feedback was also positive. One student stated, “It was pretty enjoyable doing the virtual reality compared to just like reading a book.” Another said, “So it really allowed you to think and put yourself in their shoes.”

Conclusions: Implementation of a VR-based learning activity into the first semester of the PharmD curriculum was successful and resulted in improved student empathy and a positive learning experience.