{"id":16540,"date":"2025-12-01T01:20:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=16540"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:01:16","slug":"vr-empathy-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2025\/12\/01\/vr-empathy-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Empathy in Caregiving Through Virtual Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Person<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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\"Nancy
Nancy Swanger<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Granger Cobb Institute for the Business of Aging<\/a> has partnered with Massachusetts-based company Rendever to pilot a virtual reality training program that helps caregivers and students better understand the experiences of people living with dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After agreeing to participate, Founding Director Nancy Swanger<\/a> and two of her students tested the program firsthand, exploring how immersive technology could help caregivers build deeper understanding through simulated real-world challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiencing dementia through another lens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the program, participants donned a VR headset and performed everyday tasks that slowly became confusing or illogical\u2014mimicking what someone with dementia might experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Swanger says one memorable exercise instructed the participant to move a red pill to a corresponding box, only for the visuals to suddenly shift until the box was in another location or the pill had changed color. Participants say the exercise would quickly become exasperating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou see how frustrating it is when you think you know what you’re doing, your mind feels like it knows what it’s doing, but the connection is not there,\u201d says Lillian Samuels<\/a> (\u201928 Aging, Finance) who participated in the program. \u201cYou get the real-life experience of how confusing everyday tasks can be for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rendever\u2019s platform also includes a virtual assistant named NOVA, who helps guide users through the training. Swanger says this kind of training opens new possibilities and improves mutual understanding for caregivers, offering a safe, immersive way for them to understand a reality they might one day encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt enhances people\u2019s empathy,\u201d Swanger says. \u201cTrying to walk in someone else\u2019s shoes is really hard, but this is one of those businesses where you need to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing students for real experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond empathy, the technology gives students a preview before they enter senior-living communities for work experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a great way to break the ice so they\u2019re not so shell-shocked when they have to deal with something face-to-face for the first time,\u201d Swanger says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sees similar promise for educators. Experiential learning is a powerful instructional tool, but it\u2019s strongest when connecting students directly to evolving practices. She stresses that without industry involvement, these kinds of opportunities would not be possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is where the rubber hits the road\u2014this is as current and as innovative as it gets,\u201d Swanger says. \u201cOur students are hearing from the people who do it and who are living it in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Swanger says she expects VR and other emerging technologies to continue reshaping senior-living education while reinforcing, not replacing, the human side of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAI and technology aren\u2019t going to replace the human connection this industry needs to thrive.\u201d she says. \u201cWhat they can do is take away the mundane, boring tasks that free people up to spend more time with residents\u2014the part that matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding student experience through industry ties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Swanger says partnerships like this one reflect the institute\u2019s commitment to giving students direct exposure to a field many have never considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connections with industry help keep the institute grounded in the latest technology and innovations in the senior-living field and can change how students view senior living altogether. As a career path, she says students aren\u2019t always aware senior living is an option that draws a diverse range of professionals. However, for a generation that wants their daily work to be meaningful, it\u2019s often a surprisingly good fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat could matter more than making a positive difference in the life of an elderly person every single day?\u201d she says. \u201cThis is an industry that takes engineers and artists and musicians and sport-management people. If you have the right heart, there\u2019s a place for you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Granger Cobb Institute for the Business of Aging partnered with Massachusetts-based company Rendever to pilot a virtual reality training program that helps caregivers and students better understand the experiences of people living with dementia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[629],"featured_media":16628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[627,425],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16540"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/629"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16540"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18388,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16540\/revisions\/18388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16540"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=16540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}