Silva e Silva, who says internationalization is an important component of her research program, was already building relationships with Brazilian institutions through student mobility and discussions about formal partnerships.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-copy.jpg\")
Vanessa Silva e Silva (left), Associate Professor in Brock University\u2019s School of Nursing, demonstrated the code orange 360-degree simulation developed at Brock University to Janine Schirmer, Dean of the School of Nursing at Federal University of S\u00e3o Paulo, during a visit to Brazil from July 14 to Aug. 28.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe Faculty Mobility\u00a0for Partnership Building\u00a0Program was the perfect opportunity to strengthen those relationships in person, advance our planned collaborations and create new opportunities for research,\u00a0education\u00a0and student exchange. It also strongly aligns with Brock\u2019s commitment to expanding its global partnerships and international engagement,\u201d\u00a0she says.<\/p>\n
The international exchange also\u00a0allowed her to share Brock\u2019s emerging use of simulation technology to support student learning in her native country as well as gain valuable insight into the professional master\u2019s curriculum at the Albert\u00a0Einstein\u00a0School of Nursing.<\/p>\n
During her trip, Silva e Silva demonstrated\u00a0an\u00a0immersive disaster\u00a0simulation\u00a0that she designed as an innovative approach to nursing education. Assistant Professor\u00a0of the School of Nursing\u00a0Amina Silva\u00a0led the technical development\u00a0of the simulation, using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to translate the concept into an extended reality application and deploy it to a Meta Quest headset.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had an opportunity to share our innovative Code Orange disaster simulation exercise,<\/a> which has been\u00a0successfully\u00a0transformed into an immersive 360-degree virtual reality simulation experience designed by nurses, for nurses,\u201d Silva e Silva says. \u201cTo our knowledge, it is the first\u00a0Canadian initiative\u00a0of its kind\u00a0that focus on immersing nursing learners\u00a0in the complexity of a large-scale mass-casualty response.\u201d<\/p>\n The simulation is part of a broader effort led by Silva and Silva e Silva to reimagine how students learn in health-care environments.<\/p>\n Programs at Brock\u2019s School of Nursing are also implementing other simulation technologies that allow students to assess patients and practice communication strategies.<\/p>\n \u201cMy research is increasingly focused on innovation and the responsible integration of AI and emerging technologies into nursing education, research and health care,\u201d says Silva e Silva. \u201cI\u2019m particularly interested in how these technologies can be used meaningfully to improve education, support health-care professionals and ultimately improve patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n Silva\u00a0e Silva\u00a0is currently developing an AI tool to support organ donation\u00a0co-ordinators, who\u00a0may\u00a0be\u00a0called\u00a0upon repeatedly to answer\u00a0clinical and process-related\u00a0questions\u00a0while\u00a0simultaneously\u00a0managing\u00a0complex\u00a0time-sensitive responsibilities.<\/p>\n The tool will be tested at Hamilton Health Sciences, with outcomes compared across Kingston General Hospital and Niagara Health, to evaluate its feasibility and\u00a0whether\u00a0the\u00a0technology\u00a0improves communication flow during organ transplant cases.<\/p>\n