Virtual Reality to Reduce Stress Among Nursing Students Before Final Exams

High‐stakes clinical assessments, such as final practical examinations, represent acritical component of nursing education but are frequently associated with elevatedstress levels among students. Excessive stress during such assessments has been linked toimpaired cognitive processing, reduced psychomotor performance, and diminished clinicaldecision‐making, potentially affecting both educational outcomes and student well‐being.Despite this, interventions aimed at mitigating acute pre‐exam stress in authenticeducational contexts remain limited.Immersive virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising modality for emotionalregulation due to its ability to create engaging, multisensory environments thatfacilitate attentional distraction and psychological detachment from stressors. Unliketraditional relaxation techniques, VR allows users to experience a heightened sense ofpresence, which may enhance emotional engagement and promote rapid stress reductionwithin short exposure periods. Prior studies in healthcare education and clinicalpopulations suggest that even brief VR‐based relaxation sessions can yield meaningfulreductions in perceived stress and anxiety.A key methodological consideration in stress‐reduction interventions is individualvariability in emotional response to relaxation stimuli. Allowing participants toself‐select preferred virtual environments may enhance engagement, perceived control, andemotional resonance, thereby maximizing intervention effectiveness. This preference‐basedapproach also reflects real‐world feasibility and scalability in educational settings,where time and resources are often constrained.The present study embeds a brief, self‐selected VR relaxation intervention within a realexamination context, immediately prior to a final practical assessment in a Critical CareNursing course. By situating the intervention at a moment of peak stress, the study seeksto capture ecologically valid changes in perceived stress that are directly relevant toeducational performance and student experience. In addition to evaluating stressreduction, the study examines feasibility and acceptability of VR as an adjunctivesupport strategy in nurse education, contributing to the growing body of methodologicalwork addressing the complexity of demonstrating meaningful educational outcomes.