Social care open day at UHI Inverness to highlight virtual reality as a teaching tool

The benefits of virtual reality (VR) technology as a key tool for teaching care and healthcare at UHI Inverness will be showcased at the Social Care Open Day on campus next week.

UHI Inverness is working with colleagues at Scottish Care and the wider UHI partnership to stage the open day on Monday, 12 May from 10am to 3pm to promote study and work opportunities within the social services sector.

It will bring together lecturers, employers and professionals from industry bodies to share the opportunities and career progression on offer in the Highlands. The event is open to current students and members of the public who are interested in studying social services subjects or are already in the field and are interested in advancing their careers.

The event agenda includes a morning session, entitled VR Experiences in Care Reality, that will allow visitors to try out immersive social care experiences using virtual reality headsets.

Heather Keyes trying out the immersive social care experience

UHI Inverness and Scottish Care are trialling the virtual reality technology from Scottish company, Care Reality, in the Access to Nursing and Social Services and Healthcare courses. The technology will be introduced into classes soon as a part of a pilot that is due to run until the autumn. It will allow students to experience simulated care-based scenarios to enable them to learn in a fail-safe environment. 

The health and social care virtual reality experience takes the students through the care of a care home resident who has had a fall - including handling the 999 call, the ambulance transfer, his hospital stay and organising his prescription at the pharmacy. It also allows students to practice administering medication and includes a number of infection control and clinical observation lessons.

Heather Keyes, the Curriculum Leader of Care, Arts, Sport and Humanities at UHI Inverness, demonstrated the equipment at a recent Colleges Scotland Parliamentary Reception at the Scottish Parliament.

She said: “Having worked with Scottish Care for a number of years, we discussed the benefits with our students of providing a safe virtual learning environment where they could experience some of the challenges that may arise in a care situation. Our students can struggle with the concepts of going into a potential workplace due to limited experience or awareness of what is expected of them. It can be difficult to access a sufficient number of work experience centres that are providing excellent provision of skilled care. Using VR, students can ‘fail safely’; learn from mistakes with no harm at all befalling anyone! They can reflect in a secure and supported space to plan how they would approach an activity in future."

The technology will be introduced to a limited number of students through a pilot scheme this academic year and is due to be rolled out across all care and social care programmes at UHI Inverness later in the 2025/2026 academic year.

Laura Dobinson, Scottish Care’s Independent Sector Career and Attraction Lead (Highland) said: “Bringing VR technology into the classroom as an additional learning tool is really exciting. The lessons will allow students to experience a virtual environment whilst teaching important lessons around infection control, environment management and clinical observations. We are delighted to launch this innovative partnership during our social services open day, offering attendees the chance to explore and interact with these virtual experiences firsthand.”

Heather and Laura

The open day will feature career insight sessions from those already working in the sector, including past students, who will talk about their career journeys in adult social care and nursing in social care. The afternoon exhibition will highlight current courses, apprenticeships, work placements and employment opportunities. 

Heather said: “There is a wealth of rewarding and fulfilling career opportunities available in social care that allows motivated and skilled practitioners to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives and a worthwhile contribution to the care community. This event will gather previous students, industry professionals and teaching staff together to share their considerable experience by speaking directly to those who are interested in joining the future social services workforce – students, current practitioners or those with no prior experience  –  and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to the campus.”

Laura said: “I am delighted to partner with UHI Inverness to bring a dynamic social services open day to Inverness. Promoting careers in social care and highlighting the incredible opportunities available is essential for securing our future workforce. We aim to showcase the diverse education and employment options right here in the Highlands. We are grateful to have numerous social care employers, along with representatives from the Scottish Social Services Council and Care Inspectorate, joining us for this exciting event.”

For more information visit: Events - Discover more about social care careers and study opportunities - UHI Inverness