The patient visit
User & Operator: The Two-Person Model
ViRTUE cannot be used alone. An operator (hygiene specialist) must always be present during the training to control the application and guide the user in VR.
A training session in ViRTUE is always carried out by two people together: the user in VR and the operator at the PC. The two roles are clearly separated and complement each other.
The two roles
The user
The user wears the VR headset and operates the controllers. They carry out the simulated patient visit, practising the typical task steps and applying the rules of hand hygiene. What the user sees and does in VR is described under From the user's view.
The operator (hygiene specialist)
The operator controls ViRTUE at the PC and guides the user through the entire training. Their tasks are:
- Instruct the user and guide them through the process.
- Assist with operating the VR hardware (controllers, putting on the VR headset).
- Discuss the mistakes made together with the user.
- Answer questions about how to use the app.
What the operator sees and controls at the PC, along with the full course of a visit (welcome, tutorial, supervising the visit, error analysis in the replay, and closing), is described under From the operator's view.
Why two people?
The fact that ViRTUE does not run in solo mode is a deliberate choice. The learning effect does not come from simply playing through the visit, but from the guidance: the operator instructs the user, helps with operating the VR hardware, and discusses the mistakes made. This turns the simulation into a guided learning situation in which action, hygiene rule, and consequence are put into context together.