Table 8 Guidelines for effective use of role-play to develop patient-centred interviewing skills
From: Role-play for medical students learning about communication: Guidelines for maximising benefits
• State clear aims and objectives about task and roles |
• Create roles that reflect real experiences and appropriate levels of challenges |
• Relate the role-play to the broader contexts in which students are learning |
• Acknowledge potential difficulties in role-play |
• Emphasise the importance of social interactions for learning |
• Provide sufficient time for preparation for roles |
• Highlight benefits from playing all roles |
• Use structured feedback guidelines – explore interviewers' feelings, identify effective skills and those that require development, seek feedback from interviewer and "patient", achieve a balance in what ahs worked and what needs development |
• Respond to student preferences for working with friends |
• Write reflections on the experience |
• Ensure tutors are enthusiastic |
• Provide opportunities for debriefing |
• Summarise experiences |
• Use audiovisual recording devices for playback |