Objective To improve the effectiveness and experience of surgical nursing practical training for junior college nursing students. Methods A total of 77 associate degree nursing students enrolled in 2021 were recruited from four classes, then they were divided into a control group (n=40) and an intervention group (n=37) according to their class. In the 16-hour practical training teaching of surgical nursing, the control group relied on the software teaching platform named Learning Communication and adopted the self-learning video and mirror demonstration mode, while the intervention group adopted the self-learning video and virtual reality system training mode. The learning effects of the two groups were compared, and semi-structured interviews were conducted among eleven students in the intervention group to understand their experience of participating in virtual reality teaching. Results After the intervention, the operation performance and teaching satisfaction of the intervention group were significantly better than those in the control group (all P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in usability evaluation of online teaching system and the virtual reality system between the two groups (P>0.05). Three themes were extracted from the experience of the intervention group:the feeling of participation (positive and win-win situation), the benefits of participation (immersion and innovation), and the influencing factors of participation (motivation and obstacles). Conclusion Application of the virtual reality system can improve the effect of online surgical nursing practical training for junior college nursing students.