This interactive skill-building seminar introduces a virtual reality (VR)-based learning experience designed to strengthen leadership and communication skills among interprofessional rapid response teams. Developed through a collaboration between education, internal medicine, critical care, nursing, enterprise rapid response teams, and simulation, our model offers a practical and replicable framework for improving interprofessional collaboration in time-pressured clinical contexts.

In this seminar, participants will explore a virtual scenario involving a deteriorating patient and analyze team dynamics through structured debriefs anchored in behavioral rubrics. The immersive VR environment creates a unique opportunity to examine leadership competencies, such as advocating for patient safety, initiating closed-loop communication, and engaging in shared decision-making, in the absence of non-verbal cues.
Facilitators will walk participants through implementation components such as learner orientation, scenario facilitation, rubric development, and structured observation. Reflections and lessons from our pilot sessions, including the observed link between psychological engagement during the VR ‘sandbox’ and the level of communication quality, will be shared to illustrate how immersive technologies can support interprofessional collaboration and relationship building.

This seminar directly addresses Nexus Summit themes by advancing interprofessional collaboration through innovative, technology-enhanced education that transforms clinical learning environments. The session also highlights psychological safety as a key element of team communication and was piloted with residents and nurses as co-learners.

Participants will leave with practical tools, including customizable behavioral rubrics, implementation guidance, and facilitation tips that can be directly applied to enhance interprofessional learning and team performance in their institutions.

Session Objectives:

1. Identify virtual reality strategies that promote interprofessional leadership and communication competencies.
2. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of assessing team behaviors in immersive environments.
3. Adapt our VR experience model to fit different institutional or training contexts.

Active Learning Strategies:

Participants will engage in breakout discussions using sample rubrics and real debrief data, contribute to collaborative whiteboards to co-design simulation adaptations, and reflect on implementation challenges using structured chat prompts. These strategies are designed to be inclusive and flexible for virtual attendees with varying levels of participation availability.