Jeremy Jarzembak, Ph.D. ‘23, RN, a senior lecturer in 's College of Nursing, is passionate about utilizing technology and simulation to teach nursing students. He is currently working on a National Science Foundation grant with a multi-interdisciplinary team to develop an immersive bimanual haptic mixed reality IV simulator. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, over the next decade, the U.S. will graduate 20,000 fewer nurses each year than the estimated need. In their analysis, one of the factors contributing to this shortfall is the inadequate amount of nursing faculty to teach the next generation of nurses needed. Jarzembak’s timely research seeks to leverage cutting-edge technology to meet the demands of nursing education in new and innovative ways. Innovation is going to change the way we teach and direct experiential learning. Jarzembak's work supports our strategic goal of becoming International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) certified.
Jarzembak said that he has always been passionate about technology and simulation as a way to teach and currently instructs nurses across the curriculum from undergraduate students to those matriculating through the nursing doctoral program. Additionally, his background in laboratory work as an undergraduate and master's level graduate assistant honed his passion for wanting to conduct research. Given his interest in the use of technology and simulation, he was approached by researchers at Kent State about collaborating on the use of simulation and virtual reality in teaching real-world technical skills to nursing students. His current research team is multi-disciplinary, including individuals from computer science, biology, psychology and nursing.
As a researcher and clinician, Jarzembak is aware that patient safety is always paramount and developing instruments and procedures in a safe environment drives innovation. Jarzembak commented, “IV insertion is the most common skill set a patient experiences in the hospital setting. However, teaching the skill to mastery is challenging given the high level of procedural skill required and costly products used to teach the skill.”
Developing a hybrid simulation/virtual reality IV placement system that represents the variety of clinical scenarios encountered in the real world has been challenging but exciting, Jarzembak said. “You are trying to mimic real-life situations in a digital world. To accomplish this, it requires multiple digital devices that need to be calibrated and appear real to the user.”
He acknowledges working with other disciplines is advantageous as you learn from each other and push boundaries into areas that you might not be familiar with. As a nurse, he was a novice in understanding computer programming and coding yet he brought a unique perspective based on his clinical work with nursing students to the team. As a team, they learn from each other to produce a usable product to conduct valuable research in the area of virtual learning.
Jarzembak said has enjoyed disseminating his findings at multiple simulation and technology conferences.
“The ability to speak and talk about your findings to others offers more additional insights and networking opportunities,” he noted. He envisions that the rapid improvement in AI technology will help to create increasingly realistic environments for teaching nursing students. Future directions for his research include the development of immersion room technology where individuals can be placed into a 360-degree simulation without the need for virtual reality headsets, allowing training in realistic environments but avoiding cybersickness that can occur when using VR headsets.
Jarzembak earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Cleveland State University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and a Ph.D. in communication and information, all from Kent State. He teaches at all levels of the nursing program, shaping the next generation of nursing professionals. “My mentorship style pairs well with my teaching philosophy…be involved. Doing is the key and the more you can participate in the process the more you will learn. Everyone has to start somewhere, so why not now.”