The purpose of this study was to assess senior nursing students’ performance and perceived readiness following a fully immersive VR mass disaster triage simulation and evaluate the effectiveness of VR as an educational modality for emergency preparedness training.

A retrospective observational study assessed BSN students who participated in a VR simulation incorporating START triage and TeamSTEPPS™ principles. Sixty-four students completed the post-experience survey using validated PACT instruments and custom measures.

Students demonstrated successful application of START triage methods and TeamSTEPPS domains during the simulation. Students reported significant increases in perceived knowledge of emergency response (M = 64.3%, SD = 27.5), attitude toward mass disaster training importance (M = 76.8%, SD = 24.5), and ability to respond (M = 66.9%, SD = 26.2). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed significant improvements in understanding of all TeamSTEPPS concepts (P <.05).

VR simulation effectively enhanced nursing students’ perceived readiness for mass disaster response and demonstrated successful application of emergency skills, supporting its integration into nursing curricula for Generation Z learners.