Faculty Spotlight: Building Confidence in the Clinic: How VR Prepares Vet Tech Students
Amy Rubin & Amanda Golembeski- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
Innovating Veterinary Education with Virtual Reality
Amy Rubin, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Veterinary Technology Program, and Amanda Golembeski, Certified Veterinary Technology Lab Instructor, are leading a transformative initiative in veterinary education at UMass Amherst and Mt. Ida campuses. Funded by the Flexible Education Division , and in collaboration with IDEAS and Xenniel, they’ve developed and implemented a virtual reality (VR) training tool that helps Veterinary Technician students build essential clinical skills in safe, immersive environments. Since Fall 2024, VR has been part of their curriculum, giving students structured, hands-on practice before working with live animals.
- In Introduction to Veterinary Technology, students use VR to practice syringe handling techniques.
- In Veterinary Clinical Nursing I, they master venipuncture procedures on cats and dogs through realistic simulations.
This scaffolded approach—first learning through readings and videos, then practicing in VR, and finally applying skills with real patients—builds student confidence and competence.
“VR removes the scary part of practicing on live patients,” says Rubin. “The repetition and practice is invaluable and helps my students feel ‘ready’.
Virtual reality is changing how students learn in many fields. Research shows that immersive technologies significantly improve comprehension, retention, and engagement (Kuna et al., 2023). In medical and veterinary fields, VR offers repeatable, low-risk environments for practicing complex procedures, enhancing both psychomotor and cognitive skills (Nguyen et al., 2018). Arizona State University’s Dreamscape Learn biology labs, for example, have led to measurable gains in academic performance and STEM retention (Faller, 2025).
Still, using VR effectively requires careful instructional design. While VR boosts motivation, its immersive nature can increase cognitive load—especially in unfamiliar tasks (Kaplan et al., 2021). Amy and Amanda’s scaffolded model mitigates this by gradually building skills through layered practice. Students can even borrow VR equipment from the UMass Digital Media Lab to reinforce learning outside of class!
Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges
While VR technology can transform classrooms, careful planning and support from campus learning technology experts is important. Technical glitches can disrupt lab sessions, and faculty need ongoing support to manage equipment and software. “We’re trained as vets, not VR experts,” Amy notes. Their colleague, Danielle Rini, CVT who has a background in gaming technology has been very helpful, but they emphasize the importance of institutional support for sustainable innovation.
Student response to VR has been overwhelmingly positive, with noticeable improvements in performance on clinical assessments. Amy and Amanda are exploring new simulations and hope to build one soon that allows students to practice intravenous catheterization. Additional VR future simulations could include intubation and anesthesia- areas where scaffolded, immersive practice could further enhance student readiness.