Virtual Reality for Training and Decision-Making in Complex Healthcare Contexts
Projects: EUROMAID, Erasmus+
This master’s thesis, integrated into the European project EUROMAID (Erasmus+), proposes the development of a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation system designed to support clinical reasoning training and decision-making in complex healthcare settings. The aim is to create an immersive environment in which nursing students and other healthcare professionals can safely and systematically practice the analysis of challenging clinical situations, following evidence-based training protocols and realistic clinical scenarios.
The student will design and develop a VR system prototype, integrating a structured clinical training protocol that guides users through different stages of assessment, decision-making, and reflection. The system will enable the simulation of interactions with patients and healthcare teams, record user decisions, and provide educational feedback.
The work will also involve collaboration in the analysis of pedagogical requirements, user experience design, and the implementation of decision-support mechanisms to better understand clinical reasoning processes.
The thesis will be developed in collaboration with international partners from the EUROMAID project, allowing the system to be tested with students from different countries and educational contexts. This work will provide experience in virtual reality applied to healthcare, clinical decision-support systems, and simulation in medical education, contributing to the development of new digital training tools that enhance clinical skills, critical thinking, and ethical preparedness in complex healthcare situations.
If you are interested, please get in touch with Prof. Luís Lapão: l.lapao@fct.unl.pt