Nursing education, virtual reality and empathy?

An empathic approach to patient-centred care is a core of nursing practice. One of the methods to develop empathy, which is gaining currency is the use of virtual reality simulations in education. This paper posits some questions, does it simply reinforce a ‘type’ of patient, neglecting caring for the patient as unique, is empathy what results or is it pity, does it result in a greater distance being created between the patient and the health care provider? Can we ever really know what it is like to walk in a patient's shoes when what we experience through virtual reality provides a small snapshot of the vicissitudes of living with an illness or disability. We suggest that what matters most in simulations using virtual reality is how the student exits the experience and if they leave knowing just what patients ‘like that’ feel, or whether they leave with humility and curiosity. © 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd