VR CPR Training

St John Ambulance Victoria has today launched its ground-breaking new virtual reality CPR training, "SJx". An Australian-first, this new training course will accredit the Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation certificate to Victorian students using real-life 360-degree video scenarios and an integrated questionnaire.

SJx can be delivered via two methods; a one-hour delivery for four students using virtual reality or a two-hour delivery for a group of 20 students using immersive learning. This will cut up to two hours from the traditional time it takes to deliver and undertake CPR training.

Research has shown that students who are trained through virtual reality answer questions correctly 82 per cent of the time, which is eight per cent higher than the average respondent. Additionally, learning through virtual reality has also proven to increase overall student reaction time by 20 per cent and achieve a retention rate of 75 per cent, significantly higher than the 5 per cent associated with the traditional lecture style.

CEO of St John Ambulance Victoria, Gordon Botwright says: "We know our lives are increasingly busy which is why St John Ambulance Victoria has significantly cut down the time it takes to deliver a market-leading first aid course – from almost half a day to just one hour, whilst still ensuring that our students get the same high-quality learning experience.

Research taken from other overseas virtual reality CPR training courses has shown a significant increase in bystander response rates from just 58 per cent to 82 per cent. Through the roll out of this immersive course, St John Ambulance Victoria can continue to equip our students with the skills and real-world scenarios they need to improve cardiac arrest response times and ultimately, survival rates."

Australian virtual reality developers "Start VR" worked closely with St John Ambulance Victoria to develop the new SJx technology which showcases two real-life scenarios for students to respond to using 360-virtual reality; one scenario takes place in a carpark while the second at a childcare centre.

SJx training can now be undertaken at St John Ambulance Victoria's training headquarters located at Level 6, 310 King Street Melbourne or delivered to small and medium sized groups of up to 20 students by St John Ambulance Victoria trainers at workplaces around Victoria.

6,434 cardiac arrest patients were attended to in Victoria between 2017-2018 – the most cardiac arrest cases ever. Of those, 9% of patients survived and those who received bystander CPR recorded a higher survival rate than those who didn't*