Transforming EMS Education Through Immersive Technology: A Case for Virtual Reality Integration

By: Christopher DeRosa and Matthew Wallace | Article originally published in JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services

The landscape of emergency medical services (EMS) education is evolving. With growing expectations for entry-level competence and an ongoing shortage of EMS providers nationwide, educators are reevaluating how students acquire not just cognitive knowledge but also scene-ready, hands-on clinical competence. Immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), are playing a meaningful role in this transformation.

It is time we reflect on how immersive tools are being used in real classrooms and how they are shaping skills development, engagement and preparedness for tomorrow’s EMS professionals.

Meeting Students Where They Are

At Bullard-Havens Technical High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut, we work with high school students to become employable first-responders by the time they graduate. Our learners are often new to emergency response and come with a variety of academic and personal backgrounds. For them, learning CPR or managing a trauma patient isn’t just about passing a test; it’s about building confidence in high-stakes, emotionally charged situations.

While traditional methods (i.e. lectures, labs, manikins) remain central to our instruction, we began integrating virtual reality training for skills practice. It quickly became clear that immersive technology offered something more than just a novel classroom activity: it provided structure, repetition and hands-on realism in ways our existing tools couldn’t.

Students now experience scenarios ranging from cardiac arrest to in-home childbirth, all from the safety of our classroom using a VR headset. These are encounters most students wouldn’t see in clinical ride time but will one day face in the field. The virtual setting allows for trial and error without real-world consequence, developing judgment under pressure.

Incorporating this virtual reality training in our classrooms has helped with recruiting the next generation of first responders that we desperately need. It has also exposed students who may not have had an interest in the emergency medical field to now wanting to become an emergency medical technician. It has become the instructor’s best friend.

Not a Replacement, An Extension

There is a misconception that immersive technology is trying to replace human instruction or hands-on simulation. In our experience, the opposite is true. Virtual reality is most powerful when it complements traditional training.

In our program, VR is a precursor to high-fidelity simulations and live assessments. It reinforces basic skills, like airway management or CPR technique and introduces decision-making frameworks before students encounter real patients, with scenarios deliberately aligned to national registry and certification competencies to ensure consistency with the broader EMS curriculum. This blended approach helps students arrive at their lab sessions more prepared, more confident and more able to focus on refining psychomotor precision.

Observable Impact: Confidence, Engagement and Equity

From the first time we mentioned VR, student engagement increased. Learners became eager participants. For some, it was their first exposure to the kind of decision-making that EMS demands. For others, the ability to repeat and replay a scenario gave them a chance to reflect and improve without embarrassment or pressure.

We saw a meaningful confidence boost in students who typically hesitated during hands-on scenarios. By allowing them to enter a simulated environment on their own terms, VR helped reduce the intimidation factor. They began asking better questions, showing up more prepared and participating more actively in traditional skills labs.

This accessibility also makes immersive training a potential tool for equity; providing high-quality practice opportunities regardless of a student’s learning style or background. When this program is broadcast on the Smartboard or TV, students are able to help each other during the different scenarios. This has brought many students closer together because they all want to help each other succeed, while also strengthening their communication skills as they share ideas, give feedback and work through challenges collaboratively.

Scaling to Meet Regional Needs

The impact of immersive EMS training at the classroom level has extended beyond school walls. In East Hartford, Connecticut, local legislators took note and helped launch a broader initiative to bring VR-based EMS training to more students across the region.

Working in partnership with a local university, East Hartford Public Schools implemented the virtual reality platform as part of high school career exploration courses. These programs introduce students to emergency services professions through immersive, hands-on learning often before they’ve even enrolled in a formal certification track.

This use of virtual reality in pre-professional education illustrates how immersive tools can expand access and visibility into EMS careers. It also highlights how state and municipal stakeholders are beginning to view VR not only as a classroom enhancement, but as a workforce development strategy.

By integrating VR into early pipeline programs, regions like East Hartford are creating new entry points into EMS, a crucial step at a time when recruitment remains a national challenge.

Looking Forward: AI-Enhanced Simulation and Complex Competency Development

As immersive training continues to evolve, one of the most promising developments lies in the integration of artificial intelligence. AI-powered virtual environments have the potential to take EMS training beyond rote skill practice, teaching deeper clinical reasoning, communication and scene management.

By embedding AI into simulation design, learners could soon engage in realistic conversations with simulated patients, family members, or even other responders while having to adapt to changing conditions or unexpected cues in real time. These experiences would allow both new and experienced providers to practice crucial soft skills: delivering difficult news, coordinating multi-agency responses, triaging under stress, or managing complex scenes.

For educators, AI-enhanced simulations also offer the ability to dynamically adjust scenarios based on learner choices, creating adaptive learning paths and new opportunities for formative feedback. This would support not just psychomotor skill development, but the cognitive and interpersonal competencies that are just as essential in EMS work.

Conclusion: A Scaffold, Not a Shortcut

Virtual reality and other immersive tools are not shortcuts to competency, nor are they replacements for clinical experience. But as our experience at Bullard-Havens and our regional partnerships suggest, they are a scaffold providing students with access, repetition and realism that would be unachievable through traditional methods alone.

About the Authors

Christopher DeRosa is the Department Head of Criminal Justice and Protective Services at Bullard Havens Technical High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He has over 25 years of experience as a firefighter and EMT and holds certifications as a firefighter instructor and EMS instructor. A former U.S. Army instructor, Christopher continues to serve as an active instructor with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. His diverse background in emergency services and military training enriches his commitment to preparing students for careers in public safety through hands-on instruction, leadership development and real-world readiness.

Matthew Wallace is CEO and President of VRSim, a developer of virtual reality training systems including VRNA CNA, VRNA EMS, SimSpray and SimSpray Go. VRSim collaborates with educators and agencies nationwide to explore how immersive and AI-driven technologies can strengthen workforce readiness and simulation-based learning.