Role play â?? an eff ective tool to teach clinical medicine

Abstract

Sourya Acharya, Samarth Shukla, Neema Acharya, Jayanta Vagha

This study was undertaken as an experimental effort to introduce role-play as a learning tool in teaching of clinical medicine, access its efficacy in understanding clinical scenarios and honing linguistic and examination skills through expression in medical students. The basic hypothesis was that, role-plays can guide the medical students in a better way by gaining knowledge and attitude to deal with real-life situations through simulation acts, so that they can apply this knowledge and skill gained through these simulations in practical examinations, as well as self-application in clinical practice. Methods: This experimental study with a single group pre- and post-test design was carried out in Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University (NAAC-A) and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha. Twenty-four final year MBBS students were selected for the study. All were subjected to a pre sensitization test in short case format covering affective, cognitive and psychomotor domains from cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal system and marks were recorded. Later, the students were sensitized with role-plays of common clinical scenarios and all the role-plays were enacted. Finally, post sensitization test in the same short case format was conducted. Statistical method: student’s paired t-test