Session G - Learning by doing - Preparing drama students for simulating patient and carers

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Learning By Doing: Preparing Drama Students for Simulating Patients and Carers.

Debbie Lewis Senior Lecturer Adam Skerrett Professional Role Player


Birmingham School of Acting Role Player Training

Practically providing actors for teaching purposes can be expensive and simulated patients and carers are often lay persons, staff or other students. Covering two hours of communication skills training for the BSc (Hons.) first year students requires actors for 86 hours.


BSA – A Healthy Collaboration

• In-house pilot funding paid the costs of training seven role players in total.

• Three 3rd year students from BSA and four existing role players [clinical staff] already utilised on Learning Disabilities programme.

• Two day training programme to standardise practice and provide a common level of training for all.


The programme Day One: • Why do we need simulators in healthcare education? • What communication skills are we trying to promote in healthcare? • What is the professional role player’s job? • Preparing for a role play – Ground rules/scenario demonstration/reviewing scenario • Giving feedback – using Pendleton’s Rules, rewarding the good - challenging the

poor.• Role play demonstration - Observing feedback• Practice time using pre-written scenarios Day Two• Practice time using scenarios – focusing on more difficult scenarios • Playing level - adjusting role play to meet students educational needs and experience• Flexibility and improvisation - how this might work in practice• Taking care of self


What went well?

• There was a common language regarding communication skills e.g. awareness of body language, responding to cues and linguistical

Issues. • Drama students are used to giving and receiving

feedback on performance.• Drama students are flexible and can move from one

scenario to another quickly.• They lack barriers created healthcare professionals.


Training Programme Evaluation

• All participants ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ the programme met it’s learning outcomes.

Participants comments:“This was a very interesting module and although when I first participated in the training I felt completely clueless, I am now

adequately confident that I can complete the role successfully”.

“Excellent. Very informative, interesting and a unique project I look forward to doing more work”.

What could be improved?

• “Don’t be scared to help us by outlining the symptoms of different illnesses. Don’t assume we will know enough to portray an illness without research”.

• “…have more awareness given on what knowledge the student nurses have and details they might ask about medication/other medication…”

Our First Cohort

Issues we need to overcome

• First year - Four 3rd Year BA students• Second year – Seven students from the BA Applied Performance

[Community and Education] plus one existing Faculty role-player• Third year – Integrated at a Modular level [in Nov. 2013]Students of drama:• Are busy! – 9 to 5 working commitment• And move on• There is 50% drop out rate from training to the class room sessions• Coordination is needed with some flexibility• There are payment issues

Is the future ‘Orange’?

Green for go?:• Further integrate role player training into BSA degree

programme.• OpportUNITY Student Engagement – students will be paid, job

description created etc. • This year, subject to the boundaries of our HEA Collaborative

Grant, the above may be supplemented by two Faculty role players.

• Two hospices have expressed an interest in using our actors in their courses this year.

• Longer Term – BSA are creating a Graduate School run by the drama students [a SAP project].


Publications

LEWIS D., O’BOYLE-DUGGAN M., CHAPMAN J., DEE P., SELLNER K., GORMAN S. (2013) ‘Putting Words into Action Project’: using

role play in skills training. B J Nurs. Vol. 22 (11): 638-644.

Health & Medicine

Session G - Learning by doing - Preparing drama students for simulating patient and carers