Role-play as a learning modality in Pakistan

To assess the effectiveness of role-play practised as a part of an integrated modular curriculum at Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad.

Each class of 100 students from the first to the final years of studying for a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), was split into seven or eight groups. Students divided the roles amongst themselves. Students were given one week's notice to prepare for each session, and had a maximum of 7 minutes for performance and 5 minutes for feedback from faculty members. Faculty staff observed the skills performed and content explored at the level of the students' training. The students' responses were recorded by a formulated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data. The results obtained were presented as frequencies and percentages.

In this study, 351 (70.2%) of eligible students participated. The advantage of role-play in alleviating potential difficulties in communicating with patients was agreed by 63 per cent (n = 223). Two hundred and forty-two students (69%) considered that role-play promoted teamwork and interpersonnel skills. One hundred and ninety-three students (55%) agreed that role-play helped them to integrate knowledge of basic sciences into clinical skills. That these sessions evoked critical thinking among students was reported by 41 per cent (n = 144). The roles created reflected real life scenarios was agreed by 27 per cent (n = 96) students. Students were given one week's notice to prepare for each session

Role-play was accepted to enhance communication skills, the promotion of teamwork and the provision of a healthy environment to integrate learning processes among students.