LAUSR

Veterinary clinical and professional skills education has evolved significantly over the past three decades, incorporating an ever-increasing number of simulation modalities.1,2 There are now many commercial and non-commercial veterinary task trainers, mannequins and simulators available that provide students and practitioners with the opportunity to gain or refresh contextual and procedural knowledge and practice clinical skills.3-5 The use of models and simulation in veterinary education originally arose from a need to support larger numbers of students and address animal welfare concerns. However, a small but growing body of evidence demonstrates improved educational outcomes through the use of simulation.6-10 Virtual simulators are one of the more recent simulation modalities, ranging from responsive environments projected onto a screen (Fig 1 and Fig 2) to virtual and augmented reality applications that use wearable headsets to place a person in a 3D responsive environment (Fig 3).11,12 There are currently several different types of virtual simulators being used within veterinary education,13-17 but, with a few exceptions, there has been a relative lack of research on their usability or the outcomes related to their use.6,18 Fig 1: Virtual clinic simulationMarton Balogh, Veterinary Information Network Fig 2: Cardiovascular monitoring simulator with a responsive canine mannequinDaniel Fletcher, Cornell University Fig 3: Canine anatomy virtual reality simulator – user view when wearing the headsetXuanhui Xu, University College Dublin Despite this lack of research, the current Covid-19 pandemic has brought the use of virtual simulators …