Physiotherapy students can be educated to portray realistic patient roles in simulation: a pragmatic observational study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Simulation-based education (SBE) has many benefits for learners, but costs can limit embedding SBE in health professional curricula. Peer simulation involves students portraying patient roles, and may reduce costs while still providing the benefits of other SBE experiences. However, the quality of the SBE may be impacted if students cannot portray authentic and realistic patient roles. The aim of this study was to investigate whether targeted education was associated with observable changes to physiotherapy students' abilities to portray patient roles in SBE. METHODS: Second year pre-registration physiotherapy students (n = 40) participated. Students completed online and face-to-..