Release 1.18: More Realism. More Efficiency. Less Stress.

Between curriculum updates, staffing shortages, budget constraints, and the pressure to keep learners engaged and well-prepared, we know nurse educators are constantly balancing it all. That’s why UbiSim 1.18 is here to give you a breather—and a boost.

This release is packed with highly requested features and realistic scenarios that make the simulation easier to run and more impactful for learners. From a barcode medication scanner that mirrors real hospital workflows to our first patient with developmental delays to new admin controls that simplify simulation at scale, we’re bringing even more clinical depth, human-centered care, and efficiency into VR.

Built by nurses for nurses, these updates help students grow more confident and clinically ready, while giving faculty back precious time. Let’s dive into what’s new, plus a peek at what’s to come at the end!

Frequently Requested New Features

At UbiSim, we don’t just hear your feedback; we use it to build every release. Whether you’ve been with us for years or you’re just discovering the power of immersive VR simulation for nursing education, welcome. Each new feature we release is shaped by real requests from educators like you, designed to save you time, enhance realism, and better prepare your students for clinical practice. Here are two of the most in-demand features we’re adding:

Barcode Medication & Blood Product Scanner

What’s something every nurse needs to do for safe administration? Verifying the "five rights:" right patient, right drug (or blood product), right dose, right route, and right time. Our new barcode scanner supports both medications and blood products, making it an essential tool in a VR hospital room. It mirrors real clinical workflows and safety protocols, giving students hands-on experience with barcode systems—or helping early-career nurses build confidence and competence.

Incentive Spirometer

Post-op respiratory care is easy to overlook—but critical to patient recovery. We’ve added a realistic, reusable incentive spirometer to UbiSim’s clinical toolkit. Now, learners can practice assessing lung function and supporting post-surgical patients with a hands-on virtual experience. Whether part of an abdominal surgery scenario, care for an elderly patient, or managing a respiratory condition, this feature helps standardize a crucial skill across your curriculum. 

Three New Scenarios in Our Ever-Expanding Catalog

Our growing scenario library helps educators like you spend less time building from scratch and more time teaching essential clinical judgment and compassionate care. These new simulations offer layered complexity, NGN alignment, and real-world relevance that’s hard to replicate in clinical placements alone or even other simulation modalities. 

Let’s take a look at our two newest scenarios:

Lucille Boughman: Small Bowel Obstruction

Learners assess an older adult experiencing a small bowel obstruction, implement evidence-based interventions, and report changes to the healthcare provider. This scenario safely trains learners to recognize symptoms, place NG tubes, administer meds, and communicate clearly—all essential for pre- and post-licensure nurses. SBO cases aren’t guaranteed during clinicals, but they are critical.

Calvin Bates: Cellulitis & Acute Kidney Injury

This medical-surgical scenario introduces Calvin, a patient with developmental delays, requiring learners to combine clinical reasoning with therapeutic communication as his condition progresses toward AKI. This is our first scenario featuring a patient with developmental delays. Learners must adapt communication styles while managing evolving symptoms and lab results—a critical combination of empathy and critical thinking.

James "Jim" Bellini: Decompensated Cirrhosis with Upper GI Bleed

Learners care for Jim, an unhoused veteran with a history of chronic alcohol use, presenting with decompensated cirrhosis and upper GI bleeding. They’ll assess symptoms, prioritize nursing interventions, administer IV medications and blood transfusions, and complete a nurse hand-off report. This scenario builds complexity through medical, ethical, and psychosocial layers—including Jim’s PTSD, depression, and transplant eligibility.

eMAR Visual Upgrade 

The Electronic Medication Administration Record has received a visual refresh for easier reading and smoother documentation in simulation.

Fontanelle Event and Condition

Learners can now assess an infant’s fontanelle (normal, depressed, or bulging) in VR. Results appear in the Facilitator View and Feedback Report—supporting more detailed debriefing and skill tracking.

Jugular Venous Distention Fix

JVD is now both visible in VR, enhancing realism during cardiovascular assessments and giving learners deeper insight into fluid status and cardiac function.

Cohort and Campus Features

Campus

‍After 1.18 launch, multi-site or multi-program institutions can work with our Implementation team to explore upgrading to our Campus Feature. This allows segmentation of multiple, independently administered campuses within a single UbiSim instance, and aggregation of learner account and performance metrics across campuses at the higher Institution level. Campuses come a new 'Campus Administrator' role to distribute learner management and performance review accountabilities locally, reducing the operational burden for admins responsible for multiple learning sites.

‍Cohort

‍Administrators can now create groups of learners to more easily track whole cohort performance, add and remove learners from classes, and automate account deactivation. With an increased limit of 500 accounts, learners can be bulk invited to the UbiSim platform and added directly to a cohort group for simple learning management.

Looking Ahead

What everyone is waiting for! UbiSim’s AI-Powered VR Simulation is coming later this year.

• Nursing-specific AI platform that reliably delivers validated responses
• Ethical AI Trained by Nurses, For Nurses
• AI-Enhanced UbiSim Intuitive Editor for intelligent scenario customization

Stay tuned!