Where Virtual Hits RealityDeveloping Disaster Management Mastery in Virtual Reality
Health STAT August 1st, 2013
Victor H. Cid, NLM SIS DIMRC, NIH, HHS
Hospital Incident Management
The Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)
Hierarchical system – not tied to org. hierarchy
Comes to life during an emergencySpecific roles, each with well-
defined tasksAnybody in the organization can
play any role
BHEPPEnhancing disaster resiliency of
◦Suburban Hospital - John Hopkins Medicine
◦NIH Clinical Center◦Walter Reed National Military Medical
CenterNLM enlisted for R&D workEleven R&D projects
Traditional HICS TrainingMandatory for Joint Commission
accreditationMethods vary, but include:
◦Individual study, ◦classroom sessions, ◦table-top exercises, ◦functional exercises, ◦full-scale exercises (FSEs)
Hospitals identified issues.
Issues Frequently CitedCost and complexity of conducting functional
and FSEsStaff engagement issuesDifficulty scheduling exercises due to
complex work shifts, staff turnover and staff availability
Difficulty simulating event conditions and information flow realistically during training
Complexity of capturing and analyzing training performance data
Impact of exercises on normal hospital activities
VR TrainingVirtual reality simulation of hospital
incident commandTesting applicability of this technology
on this contextNLM developed VR training
environment and web e-learning platform
Contractors helped design instructional aspects and exercises, conduct virtual scenario, analyze results
VR Training
Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYEgZxHQHjQ
FindingsPlanning VR exercises is as costly as
planning traditional table-top exercisesEngagingRealistic simulation of eventsReal-time access to real and simulated
information tools24/7 availability through InternetDetailed performance data captureMinimizes impact on hospital operationsSame platform useful for other training
Thank you.
Victor Cid, NLM [email protected]