On Friday, February 23, 2024, the Leatherby Libraries held its inaugural VR Showcase at the Rinker Campus to celebrate the launch of the newest resource addition to the Rinker Campus Library Services, 4 Meta Quest Pro Virtual Reality Headsets. Rinker faculty were invited to explore this cutting-edge technology firsthand, evaluating how the headsets could enhance, complement, and support the current Health Sciences curriculum.

Dr. Jo Armour Smith, Physical Therapy, Associate Professor and Interim Director of DPT Research and Faculty Affair, tests out the CPR Simulator.

The Director of Rinker Campus Library Services, Ivan Portillo, and David Carson, our Health Sciences Librarian, chose a selection of VR applications for faculty to interact with. These sample applications included CPR Simulator, which creates an interactive scenario in which a person performs CPR on a person in a public park. It goes through the steps of CPR, including the performance of chest compressions, to create an immersive experience which acts as a good “refresher” for those who have already been CPR trained.

Anu V. Nanjappa, Physical Therapy, Manager for the Graduate Admissions & Alumni Engagement, experiences the Reach Shoulder Health application.

Another application that attendees could experience was Reach Shoulder Health, had participants reach their arms out to collect virtual fireflies. This exercise measures the mobility and reach of your shoulder and compiles the data collected through the exercise into a conclusion report for users. Faculty members commented that this tool would be great for students to use on patients during shoulder rehabilitation.

Overall, this event garnered great feedback from the Rinker faculty, who saw the potential implementation of VR technology in their courses to strengthen the learning process for their students. The showcase highlighted how VR applications can be utilized to give health science students the ability to gain hands-on experience risk-free and cost-effectively.

Rinker students can now access the VR technologies firsthand by checking out a Meta Quest Pro Headset at the Rinker Health Study Commons or at the Library Services Desk in the Campus Center. 

Follow the Virtual Reality LibGuide and learn more about our commitment to implementing VR technologies in the Health Science Curriculum.

If you have questions about using these headsets, please contact the Director of Rinker Campus Library Services, Ivan Portillo, at iportillo@chapman.edu or our Health Sciences Librarian, David Carson, at davcarso@chapman.edu.