About South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub

South Yorkshire, hosted by Primary Care Doncaster, is one of the unique Primary Care Workforce and Training Hubs recognised by NHS England. They provide preceptorships, education and induction programmes, and training sessions for all types of staff involved in Primary Care whilst being the conduit between practices and universities for student placements. South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce & Training Hub (SYPCWTH) is also involved in several other projects and functions to support the recruitment and retention of staff.

The Brief

Our relationship came about via the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, where Liz Leggott, Project Manager at SYPCWTH, spotted potential for working with us. Initially, she wanted ExR Education to recreate student nurse placements in 360° virtual reality (VR) for two reasons – to:

1. Increase the number of placements available for students
2. Release some of the capacity of the practice nurses who would normally supervise the students

Yet as the conversation continued and Liz found out more about our collections of medical VR training tools, SYPCWTH became interested in the opportunity to develop one to teach and enable student nurses to take a cytology sample. 

Using VR for Cytology Sample Training

South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub also recognised a need for a VR cytology sample training tool, something Liz hadn’t seen before.

“The reason for [wanting] the cytology tool is that it [the procedure] is usually practiced on a part task trainer and then straight onto a willing female patient. Having this [VR] tool to practice means that nurses can go over and over it, without the need for a real patient. Their trainers can see what the student is doing, something that you can't do is view what happens inside the task trainer or the patient.”

Liz Leggott, Project Manager at South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub

Expanding Accessibility to Clinical Scenarios

Our medical VR training films are freely available to all NHS users and span a breadth of departments, from surgery and emergency to the Primary Care functions Liz is involved with. We hear a multitude of reasons from NHS Trusts and care provisions on why they’re looking to our VR solutions to support and expand their training programmes – but improving accessibility to training is always at the core.

In the medical field, opportunities to witness and practice procedures are circumstantial and highly reliant on the right patient presenting the right symptoms at the right time. But VR training for nurses, doctors, HCAs (the list goes on) is helping to overcome these barriers, something Liz recognises in abundance.

“We wanted to create a number of typical nurse clinic appointments/conversations so that students could watch and experience them without being in the practice. They'd be used to help the students gain experience and exposure to the types of patient and consultations in Primary Care.”

Producing 11 Clinical Scenarios in 360°VR

Nick Culley, one of our Film Producers, worked with Liz to plan and carry out the day’s filming. We filmed eleven fit-for-purpose scenarios in 360°VR that SYPCWTH can now share with students during teaching sessions. Students will also be able to view the training films in their own time, reinforcing the accessible and user-friendly nature of the tool.

“The process of filming was a great team effort by ExR and our experienced nurse. Actors were sourced by the hub and were given guidelines on the flow of conversation but were able to freestyle and play their character without restriction. It was a quick and smooth process.”

Liz Leggott

The Bigger Impact of Medical VR Training

It's not just the students who fall under South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub's responsibility that will benefit from the training films, either. Both the Legacy Nurse in the South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub and a lecturer in the field at a local university have seen the VR training tools we’ve produced and are contemplating how they can use them, too. That's for both nursing degree courses and Vocational Training Schemes.

Lisa Sharp is one of the Legacy Nurses who had the opportunity to work on this virtual placement project for SYPCWTH.

“During this project, I worked alongside Nick who I found to be very professional, unique, and diverse – the support and guidance provided helped to execute our goal and obtain a successful outcome.”

Lisa Sharp, Legacy Nurse at South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub

Growing Adoption of VR Training for Nurses

Indeed, now the VR tools have been produced, SYPCWTH needs to test them. The cytology sample training tool is in production, and Liz is looking forward to getting that in front of the students. 

“If this [ExR Education] is going to be a huge repository of scenarios, it’s going to be an amazing resource for us and the wider training community. They [ExR Education] are so accommodating and willing to work with you to make more content! It feels like the possibilities are endless!”

We feel the possibilities are immense too. Momentum around awareness and adoption of medical virtual reality training is growing each and every day. ExR Education is proud to be a part of the movement that’s helping to democratise access to powerful VR tools that can make positive impacts on training in the sector.

“It [ExR Education] is a fantastic platform, free to access and getting busy with relevant content. The quality of the scenarios produced are fantastic and we can see them going hand-in-hand with some of the VR activities already on the platform.”

Liz Leggott

“I was new to the virtual reality world and Nick treated me with respect and patience, explaining everything to ensure my understanding to enable me to capture the learning outcomes that I was trying to achieve.”

Lisa Sharp

What's Next for Training at Doncaster Primary Care?

South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub’s exploration and use of virtual reality tools may have started with clinical scenarios and cytology sample procedures, but is set to continue for far more applications. 

“I have also had the opportunity to work alongside Adele [ExR Project Manager] for a storyboard of another project. I found Adele to ensure attention to detail was achieved. I was listened to, and different scenarios and options were made available. I felt guided and supported, and I would welcome any future projects with the assistance of ExR Education.”

Lisa Sharp

 Are you looking to increase accessibility to student training in your organisation?

Our team are here to produce VR training experiences for a range of users across a whole host of medical scenarios, from the clinical practice you’ve read about above to specialist surgeries and emergency procedures. Get in touch to find out what we could develop with you!