Objectives The challenges of bioscience courses such as anatomy and physiology in nursing education are well documented. Virtual reality has recently become accessible and may support student engagement. The purpose of this project was to describe students' engagement and experiences with virtual reality in a first-year nursing course on anatomy, physiology, and health assessment. Methods We used a cross-sectional design and collected both quantitative and qualitative data. The Exploratory Learning Model guided our work. Results Students perceived their engagement to be higher in virtual reality compared to other teaching methods. Their experiences were positive with students reporting that they found it easy to use, it helped their learning, and they recommended more of it. Conclusions Virtual reality is an accessible tool for supporting student engagement. The Exploratory Learning Model is a useful conceptualization for integrating virtual reality into a course. Future research on the relationship between virtual reality and learning achievements is warranted.
Keywords: bioscience; exploratory learning model; nursing education; virtual reality.