Actors take centre stage in medical training
In a groundbreaking new partnership with Adelaide Health Simulation, we’re combining forces to upskill actors as simulated patients to train the next generation of nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals. We caught up with the Simulated Patient crew to chat about this new program.
Q&A with AHS Director Associate Professor, Adam Monatgu; Research Lead, Associate Professor Ellen Davies; and Simulated Patient Co-Ordinator Lotte Crawford.
Tell us about the Adelaide Health Simulation.
Adelaide Health Simulation (AHS) is a specialty learning and teaching unit within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at The University of Adelaide. We have a multi-discipline team of people from health and performing arts backgrounds. Using skills from these diverse disciplines, we provide opportunities for students from different health professions to immerse in simulated clinical environments and scenarios so that they can learn, practice and receive feedback on their behavioural, social and procedural skills.
Which students participate in the training?
Most of the students who come to AHS are undergraduate students from the Adelaide Medical School and Adelaide Nursing Schools. From their first week of study, these students have opportunities to learn in simulated environments with simulation patients (SPs). We also have post-graduate students and health professionals who attend sessions at AHS. These cohorts are often involved with much more complex simulations that truly mimic real-world environments and situations.
Walk us through a typical day of a Simulated Patient at AHS.
There is no such thing as a typical day for an SP! There is such great variety in the programs they work in, and the patients and patient relatives they represent. Before a day of simulation sessions, SPs will be provided with information about the patient role they will be playing. This gives SPs time to understand the role and character, including the medical condition, symptoms, medications, socio-economic circumstances and relationships of the SP. On the day, SPs will meet with simulation educators or the SP coordinator for a brief on how to play their role for the day, and what to expect from students. Most often, our SPs will spend their shift in a simulated hospital room or simulated clinical examination room. Sometimes they will be acting out physical symptoms, like a headache, or chest pain, or a seizure. Sometimes they will be involved in scenarios where the focus is communication skills – for example the student is rehearsing the skill of breaking bad news to people about a life-limiting illness.
What kind of technology does the AHS use for its work?
We use varying degrees of technology at AHS, depending on the learning outcomes we are wanting students to achieve and the type of simulated clinical context we are wanting to create. In our simulations, the technology can range from very basic tools that are used to provide information about SPs blood pressure and pulse, all the way through to manikins that mimic a human breathing, virtual reality and immersive technologies that electronically place students in different scenarios and recording technology that allows students and educators to re-watch scenarios.
Why are artists and actors important for training?
Health professionals from all disciplines need to learn a variety of skills throughout their training. Ideally the first time students perform these skills should be in a simulated environment, where there is less risk of real patients being harmed. Some of these skills are what we call procedural or technical skills – for example, drawing blood from a patients’ vein. Many of these skills are social and behavioural skills where students need to learn to communicate with patients about clinical topics – for example, talking with a patient about a new diagnosis.
SPs provide invaluable opportunities for health professions students to practice their communication skills in an environment that is designed for learning, making mistakes, receiving feedback and for re-practicing skills. The actors who come to work in simulation are expert at engaging in improvised conversations and providing students with opportunities to practice their clinical communication skills.
What skills and traits do actors need to be successful SPs?
Actors and SPs bring a diverse range of skills and experience to our SP program. We employ novice and highly experienced professional and non-professional actors.
We support individuals to understand that performing for the purpose of education can be at times very different to performing for the purpose of entertainment. The performance must be tailored to the learning environment, the learning outcomes and the individual learner. For this reason, SP’s must have a high degree of emotional intelligence and be able to portray a variety of emotional and physical states.
How will the new partnership with State Theatre Company South Australia support your work?
We are so excited for this partnership. It formalises an alliance between the state’s premier theatre company (STCSA) and the largest employer of actors in the state (AHS). For AHS and our group of SPs, there are three major benefits. First, our SPs without an acting background will have opportunities to develop their skills and to potentially take on the more challenging roles in simulation, with confidence. Second, the professional actors in our group will have the opportunity to broaden their skills and network with other industry professionals. And third, we can support local writers. We are especially excited for the ‘Great Australian Bites’ play reads, as many of our SPs will have the opportunity to be involved in the cast.