The VPM was designed to be complete

The VPM was designed to be completed by sophomore nursing students during an introductory clinical course. It consists of an intro- ductory unit, nine learning units, and a completion unit. The introduc- tory unit includes instructions for testing for software compatibility and a welcome video. Students are asked to complete a demographic survey and a 20-question pretest before the learning units open. Each learning unit contains learning objects, content presented through vid- eos, and an encounter with the virtual character. After the encounter, the students provide health education and nursing care to the virtual patient through a series of questions.

If the student answers the questions successfully, the second unit becomes available according to the predetermined time frame. The time constraints enable the virtual pregnancy to unfold over a specified time, just as a live pregnancy unfolds over a period of nine months. During the final unit, students complete a posttest as well as an evaluation of their experience with the VPM. Students then view a picture of the virtual character and her newborn.

During Unit One, concepts relating to signs and symptoms of pregnancy, pregnancy testing, and the first month of fetal development are presented via video. Students view a vignette involving the virtual character, Susan, and her nurse practitioner (NP) discussing the signs and symptoms of pregnancy the virtual patient is experiencing. The vignette ends with the patient asking if she is pregnant as she pres- ents her over-the-counter pregnancy test to the NP. The corresponding application questions are: "Which of the following signs and symp- toms of pregnancy did Susan experience?" and "Susan's pregnancy test showed the following result: +/+. Which of the following interpreta- tions of Susan's test is correct?