Surgery Prep

Child life specialists pilot tested Surgery Prep with 15 pediatric patients at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center before surgery. See testimonials below.

Citation: Liu, J., Reyes Serrano, T., Nguyen, T., Newcomer, C. A., Wagner, J. P., & Comulada, W. S. (2024). Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of Surgery Prep, a Virtual Reality Perioperative Walkthrough Designed to Help Pediatric Patients Psychologically Prepare for Surgery. The Journal of Child Life: Psychosocial Theory and Practice, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.55591/001c.126782

Favorite testimonials from Surgery Prep study participants

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

Parent: What they thought their child liked

"It should be available to all kids [10+]."

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

Parent: Suggestion for improvement

"Using VR is cool and fun."

Child: What they liked

"More time to play"

"Using VR is cool and fun."

Child: Suggestion for improvement

Clinical Skills Simulator

Clinical Skills Simulator is grounded in published studies led by Dr. Comulada and colleagues at UCLA.

Citations:

Weisman D, Sugarman A, Huang YM, Gelberg L, Ganz PA, Comulada WS. Development of a GPT-4-Powered Virtual Simulated Patient and Communication Training Platform for Medical Students to Practice Discussing Abnormal Mammogram Results With Patients: Multiphase Study. JMIR Form Res. 2025 Apr 17;9:e65670. doi: 10.2196/65670. PMID: 40246299; PMCID: PMC12046251.

Comulada WS, Ganz PA, Huang YM, Weisman D, Sugarman A, Lee D, Shah S, Gelberg L. A Pilot Test of an AI Voice-Driven Simulation With Feedback for Medical Students to Practice Discussing Diagnostic Mammogram Results With Patients. Cureus. 2025 Oct 28;17(10):e95606. doi: 10.7759/cureus.95606. PMID: 41322766; PMCID: PMC12659812.

Surgery Prep

Favorite testimonials from Surgery Prep study participants

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

"It should be available to all kids [10+]."

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

"She can see what it will look like and help her feel better about it."

"Using VR is cool and fun."

"Using VR is cool and fun."

"Using VR is cool and fun."

"More time to play"

"Using VR is cool and fun."

"Using VR is cool and fun."

Clinical Skills Simulator

This website uses cookies.