Summary
This blog explores the benefits of using augmented reality in healthcare training. It highlighted the current challenges facing the industry, along with the number of trained professionals that are expected to be short by the year 2032. It also highlighted how using AR in training can help overcome the current training shortfall.
Healthcare training is one of the most complex and expensive forms of training today. And rightly so, as any lapses here can lead to significant consequences.
Therefore, the need to deliver top-notch training is paramount, to say the least. This is where augmented reality (AR) can offer a promising solution.
Augmented reality in training transcends the limitations of traditional methods. It also elevates the training level to provide a realistic, immersive, and engaging experience. All this at a fraction of the cost with none of the ethical quandaries.
It is no wonder the AR Training Market in healthcare is already a $2.5 billion industry and is projected to hit $11.8 billion by 2032.
This blog will explore the benefits of using AR in healthcare training, along with insights into how it improves the efficiency of medical training.
Table of Contents:
- The Current Challenges Plaguing Healthcare Training
- How Can Augmented Reality Help Solve Challenges in Training?
- Specific Use Cases for AR in Training
- Summing It Up
The Current Challenges Plaguing Healthcare Training
There are a number of challenges facing the healthcare training industry today. The chief among them:
1. Financial Difficulties
Despite being one of the most essential industries, the healthcare industry faces a significant cash crunch. This is due to rising costs, inflation, and budget cuts. The after-effects of which are being felt in training medical professionals as well.
Healthcare training is a long-drawn process that requires extensive resources considering the stakes involved in the profession.
2. Shortage of Trained Professionals
The United States alone is expected to face a huge shortage of trained medical professionals in the coming years. The shortage is projected to be of over 200,000 registered nurses and over 50,000 physicians.
These significant numbers further make the need for current training methods to become more efficient stronger. Using updated training methods like AR will play a crucial role in combating the medical industry’s shortfall.
3. Continual Regulation Changes
Healthcare is a highly regulated industry with constantly evolving rules and requirements. The healthcare training industry has to keep evolving to ensure that every batch of professionals is up to date with current standards to prevent compliance violations.
A dynamic environment such as this requires the addition of innovative training methods and technology that can keep pace with these changing regulations.
Also Read: 7 Benefits of Using AR and VR Technology in Employee Training
How Can Augmented Reality Help Solve Challenges in Training?
While AR for Training is not a one-stop shop to solve all the problems plaguing the healthcare training industry, incorporating this technology can help in specific areas.
1. Reduce Training Costs
Augmented reality in training can significantly help reduce the training costs involved in traditional methods that rely on expensive and scarce resources.
Take, for example, human cadavers, which are often used to teach anatomy and train specialists in performing surgeries. On average, a single human cadaver can cost between $5,000 — $10,000, which can be used only once.
Add to this the cost of acquiring, logistics, storage, and disposal, and you can picture how expensive they can be.
AR software, on the other hand, can create realistic and interactive simulations of human bodies that can be accessed anytime and anywhere without any of the ethical quandaries or logistical issues.
While a one-time investment into this tech will be required, it will pay for itself multiple times over in the long run.
2. Advance Healthcare Training
Another way augmented reality in training can make a difference is by helping speed up and improve the quality of healthcare training. With the help of AR Training Software, healthcare professionals have more opportunities to practice and master their skills with simulated real-life situations.
Further, it can also help healthcare professionals and learners access expert knowledge and mentorship from anywhere in the world. Using AR, mentors can guide trainees or even experts in performing complex procedures without needing to be present.
3. Reduce Compliance Violations
Finally, AR can also play a major hand in reducing compliance violations in healthcare.
AR can overlay critical information such as patient medical records, history, and medical guidelines. It also offers live assistance during training and in real-life practice. This can help reduce compliance violations that often lead to costly litigations.
Specific Use Cases for AR in Training
The previous sections discussed how AR in training can help address some of the pain points in the healthcare training industry of late. That said, the benefits of AR don’t just end that.
Let’s look at a few specific use cases of AR in training that demonstrate its potential and benefits.
1. Immersive and Interactive Anatomical Training
A good grasp of the human anatomy is one of the fundamental aspects of healthcare training. As we touched upon earlier, human cadavers are expensive and have limited use.
AR training software, on the other hand, provides a rich and interactive way of learning the human anatomy without the need for cadavers. Healthcare professionals can use this tech to study instances of the human body’s inner workings from an all-new perspective.
AR can also simulate how different body systems work together or respond to various stimuli or diseases in real time. It can also be used to test a healthcare student’s understanding by simulating certain scenarios or emulating emergencies.
2. Surgical Training and Assistance
Surgical training and assistance are another important area where AR can make a difference. AR can help trainees and surgeons practice and perform complex procedures in a safe and realistic environment without any of the real-world consequences.
AR can also be used to display critical information such as vital signs and patient records while a surgeon is operating on a patient without having to look away from time to time.
AR also enables remote guidance, where healthcare trainees and professionals can get expert help from specialists regardless of their location at a moment’s notice.
3. Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
Another use case for AR in training is medical diagnosis and treatment.
In the case of training, AR can create realistic scenarios with patients with different symptoms, medical histories, test results, etc. Along with the learning benefits, this method of learning also benefits trainees psychologically, as mistakes here lead to deadly consequences.
In real-life scenarios, medical professionals can use the power of full body scans and AR together to get a better perspective on a medical condition and make more informed descriptions to opt for the best course of treatment.
Also Read: 5 Ways to Incorporate Augmented Reality in Your Workplace Learning Programs
Summing It Up
Augmented reality in training has the potential to transform the healthcare industry altogether. Although it is still a relatively new technology, it is developing at a rapid pace and is bound to become more affordable in the years to come.
If you are looking for a reliable and innovative partner to help you design and deliver AR-based healthcare training solutions, look no further than Hurix Digital. We are a leading content solutions provider that can help you create customized AR learning content to take your healthcare training to new heights.
Contact Us to know how.
