title: Avatars in nursing: an integrative review.
abstract: This integrative review explored the use of avatars and virtual worlds in education, synthesizing the articles and findings and presenting implications for nurse educators. Evaluation of available publications concluded that avatars allow students to practice in a safe environment, enhancing learning. The need now is for faculty who use avatars and virtual worlds in their teaching to plan more robust outcomes assessment that evaluates if the acquired knowledge of students, met program objectives, and achieved improved patient outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Graduate Student (Ms Miller), Associate Professor (Dr Jensen), Nursing, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Indiana.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D016544:Patient Simulation; D014584:User-Computer Interface