Actor training for surgical team simulations.

Area of Science:

• Medical simulation
• Surgical training
• Healthcare education

Background:

• Immersive simulations offer risk-free surgical skill development for surgeons.
• Recruiting healthcare professionals for operating theatre (OT) team roles in training is difficult and costly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a training program for actors to simulate OT team members.
• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of using actors in surgical simulation validation studies.

Main Methods:

• A training program involving written materials, video discussion, and experiential activities was implemented.
• Evaluation utilized post-simulation interviews and questionnaires with actors and surgeons.
• Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics; qualitative data underwent thematic extraction.

Main Results:

• Three actors completed the training and participated in simulations.
• Twelve surgeons engaged in the simulations.
• Actors were perceived as realistic, indicating successful training.

Conclusions:

• Actors can effectively portray OT team members in surgical simulations after minimal training.
• This method provides a viable solution for supporting surgeon training and assessment.
• Findings are relevant for evaluating individual clinicians within an OT team context.