Role play

Advantages	Disadvantages
Encourages application of knowledge and practices skills	Possible oversimplification of complex human interactions
May be less anxiety provoking than real patient interviews	Participants need some baseline knowledge, so not an effective method for teaching new concepts
Facilitates identification of critical features of complex human interactions	Can be overused and evolve into a game
Identifies multiple approaches to a problem	Possible attribution of the characteristics in the role to the actor
Increases the development of empathy through substituted experience	Personal issues can emerge
Helps develop critical consciousness
A quick, cheap and easily available resource
Provides anticipatory preparation for emotionally challenging events

Things to do before & after a role play
Before	After
Clarify the objectives and focus of the exercise	Process the event: what did observers see or feel?
Give all participants and observers the general context	How will this be applied to future practice?
Give actors time to “read” and get into their roles (about 2-3 minutes)	Debrief the actors and move them out of the role, especially if they played the role of someone unlikeable-for example, a man assaulting his wife
Do not rehearse	Get everyone to participate in the discussion to his/her comfort level
Instruct observers to stay in the background without making gestures
Do not let the action go on too long-stop when momentum fades
Instruct actors not to act unrealistically
Provide a “time out” signal that players can use if they become stuck or you can use, if the process becomes stuck

Bibliography

Midmer D: “Role Playing”, BMJ Careers, 25/1/2003, s29