Engaging Children as Simulated Patients in Healthcare Education

Abstract

Summary Statement The value of “simulation” as a learning strategy is well established among healthcare professionals (Educ Prim Care 2015; 26(4):242–7).1 The use of “simulated patients (SPs)” to present real-world scenarios provides opportunities for students to develop “soft skills,” including interpersonal communication, critical thinking, and problem solving.4 These skills are particularly relevant in pediatric care, where healthcare providers must consider the patient's cognitive development, emotional state, and familial context. This article focuses on middle childhood (6–12 years)11 a distinctive developmental stage between 2 major developmental transition stages: infancy and adolescence. Middle childhood is associated with compulsory school attendance, developing skills in self-discipline, conflict resolution, and decision-making. Child SPs can play an important role in healthcare education providing direct insight into this unique period of development. They can contribute to the design and delivery of simulations to increase fidelity and provide meaningful real-time feedback to learners on children's experience of the healthcare system. Despite children's expertise and particular care delivery needs, documented simulations using child SPs are limited. This article considers the role of child SPs to support a case for further research into the value of engaging middle years children in the development and delivery of “simulation-based learning experiences”.4 It addresses the gap in child-focused education, the challenges inherent in working with children and outlines strategies and guidelines for effective practice.

Cognitive‐behavioral therapy training for multidisciplinary inpatient psychiatric teams: A novel curriculum using animated simulations

“…We consider this is a viable and useful next step and are planning ahead to the creation of videotaped materials of experienced nursing and MC staff interacting with professional actors in high‐acuity scenarios. Of note, simulation with child actors is possible under clear ethical guidelines (Budd et al, 2020). Simulation‐based videos have been usefully applied to teach affectively charged material in a supportive setting that facilitates psychiatric skill‐building (Drozdowicz et al, 2020; Kitay et al, 2020).…”

Sexual Health in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Multi-Site Implementation Through Synchronized Videoconferencing of an Educational Resource Using Standardized Patients

“…Although widely used in undergraduate medical education, simulation-based training in post-graduate psychiatric training is considerably more limited ( 39 – 41 ). SP use in CAP training is virtually non-existent, partly because of the additional practical, legal, and ethical considerations inherent to working with underage actors ( 42 ). Still, there are several informative examples of simulation-based psychiatric training using SPs in other fields.…”

From Learning Psychiatry to Becoming Psychiatrists: A Qualitative Study of Co-constructive Patient Simulation

“…None of our seven SPs was underage, a notable limitation when considering that our primary focus is on child and adolescent psychiatry. Even as children can be played by young adult actors, we are exploring ways of incorporating child actors into future scenarios (50). We are also interested in exploring the replication of a same case with an entirely new cast of participants, and to do so in a way that honors the "freshness" of each unique scenario.…”