Elsevier launches Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality to transform clinical education for nursing students

In one seamless experience, students can engage in immersive, evidence-based simulations, interact with virtual patients and build clinical judgment skills in a safe, realistic environment

NEW YORK, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier today announced its launch of Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality, a clinical simulation solution designed to help nursing students build confidence and clinical judgment through immersive, evidence-based learning.

The platform includes more than 165 evidence-based lab simulations designed to augment the high-fidelity simulation lab experience alongside 30 unique virtual reality patient encounters that can be used separately or together across the full nursing curriculum. These experiences expose learners to a wide range of conditions, situations and patient needs and can augment simulation lab training or help replace clinical hours. Each experience is supported by structured preparation, facilitation and debriefing tools to reinforce learning and promote critical thinking.

Shadow Health is Elsevier's comprehensive solution for patient encounters, designed to help institutions prepare practice-ready students through a broad range of immersive learning experiences. With virtual simulations and the addition of lab and virtual reality, Shadow Health now offers a robust set of patient encounters across modalities, including a multi-patient scenario, giving educators flexible ways to help students strengthen clinical judgment, build decision-making skills and gain confidence in realistic scenarios. Additionally, the patented, AI-enabled Shadow Health Conversation Engine empowers students to have genuine conversations using their own words via natural language processing, helping create more realistic patient encounters and support communication and assessment skills.

As nursing students prepare to enter increasingly complex care environments, they need opportunities to build confidence and clinical judgment before stepping into practice. In Elsevier's recently released Clinician of the Future 2026: Nurses Edition, 61% of nurses said they are seeing more patients than a year ago, while 71% of those who lack sufficient time for patient care pointed to high patient volumes as a key reason. Nurses also cited excessive administration (64%), a lack of support staff (56%) and increasing patient complexity (56%) as major pressures. These findings reinforce the need for training that helps nursing students practice prioritization, decision-making and efficient patient communication in realistic clinical scenarios.

Brent Gordon, President of Elsevier's Global Healthcare Education said: "By combining immersive VR technology with evidence-based simulations, we are enabling students to practice critical skills and develop clinical judgment in immersive ways that were not previously possible. This is a powerful step forward in preparing practice-ready nurses and represents the evolution of clinical education."

Built on Elsevier's commitment to evidence-based education, Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality integrates seamlessly into nursing curricula, offering an intuitive experience for both students and educators. By combining immersive simulation with structured learning design, it enables programs to scale clinical training while maintaining educational rigor.

"Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality is a great tool for our students because it gives them a safe, realistic way to build confidence before they enter clinical practice," said David Tanner, MSN, RN, CPN, Director of Nursing Programs at Guilford Technical Community College. "It helps bridge the gap between classroom learning and patient care by giving students more opportunities to strengthen clinical judgment, decision-making and communication skills in scenarios that reflect real-world nursing practice."

Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality will debut at the International Association for Clinical and Simulation Learning (INACSL) conference being held in Oklahoma City, June 10-13, 2026. The platform is available to undergraduate nursing programs, with continued enhancements planned to expand simulation scenarios and learning capabilities. Learn more at https://www.elsevier.com/products/shadow-health-lab.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support. For over a century, we have been helping advance science and healthcare to advance human progress. We support academic and corporate research communities, doctors, nurses, future healthcare professionals and educators across 170 countries in their vital work.

We help impact makers achieve better outcomes with research and clinical-grade solutions built on the world's leading scientific and medical knowledge base of evidence-based content, precision AI, and expert human assessment to ensure accountability at every step.

We champion inclusion and sustainability, working with the communities that we serve. The Elsevier Foundation supports research and health partnerships around the world.

Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.elsevier.com and follow us on social media @elsevierconnect.