Immersive technology is a growing field in healthcare education—attracting educationalists to evaluate its utility. There has been a trend of increasing research in this field; however, a lack of quality assurance surrounding the literature prompted the narrative review. Web Of Science database searches were undertaken from 2002 to the beginning of 2022. The studies were divided into three mixed reality groups: virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 360 videos, and learning theory subgroups. Appraising 246 studies with the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) indicated a gap in the validation of measures used to evaluate the technology. Although, those conducted in VR or those detailing learning theories scored higher according to MERSQI. There is an educational benefit to immersive technology in the healthcare setting. However, there needs to be caution in how the findings are interpreted for application beyond the initial study and a greater emphasis on research methods.
Gaining peripheral intravenous (IV; PIV) access is a fundamental skill and commonly performed task for newly qualified doctors.The General Medical Council (UK) outlines peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC) as a required competency for foundation (postgraduate year [PGY] 1 and 2) doctors. 1 PIVC is traditionally taught and achieved by landmark or palpation approaches. Failure rates for these techniques, however, range from 9% to 56%. 2 Gaining IV access can be especially difficult for certain patients due to factors such as obesity, frailty, chronic illness and IV drug use. 3 For these patients, the use of ultrasound (US) may prove particularly useful.Studies suggest that the use of US-guided PIVC (US-PIVC) increases the rate of successful cannula placement 4 and may reduce the need for central venous access, which often takes longer and has a higher incidence of complications. 5 Practically, for patients with difficult IV access, US-PIVC may represent a safe and effective option before escalating to a senior colleague.
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