1. Using role play to enhance and advance professional practice
Heather Bower, Jessica Bowden, Rebecca Parkinson

2. Professional graduates
DO PROFESSIONALS NEED TO BE GRADUATES?
East et al (2013) suggest that the role of HEIs in preparing professional graduates for the “public good” is not clear
Tension between academic and practical requirements of course
Professional capabilities – these are not just about practical skills

3. OSCEs – can they bridge the gap?
WHAT ARE THEY?
Observed Structured Clinical Examinations
Assessment of clinical skills in a safe environment
Real time scenarios using simulation and equipment
Use of role play to assess both practical and cognitive skills
Particularly useful to assess emergency skills – life and death

4. OSCES – what are the benefits/ what is the evidence?
Decision making
Assessment method that helps to strengthen public protection (Eva et al, 2016)
‘Real time’ role play
Reliable assessment of progress over time (Pugh et al, 2014)
Clinical ‘skills and drills’
Effective method for assessing technical and non technical skills (Pugh et al, 2015)

5. Role play and professional development Benefits
Students can ‘engage’ with the subject; experiential learning in the classroom / skills labs.
Students can interact with one another / play different roles in preparation for professional practice.
Students can develop learning to become familiar with ‘what the profession expects of them’ (Adams and Mabusela, 2013: p495)

6. Drawbacks Role play phobia
Some students do not ‘perform’ well when having to act out a role
Environment
Clinical skills labs can only go so far to emulate the real clinical situation
Assessment
OSCES are performed under ‘exam’ conditions – students who dislike exams may do less well
QUESTION: so how far do OSCEs prepare students for professional practice?
Drawbacks

7. Student feedback
Jess and Rebecca are 3rd year midwifery students (commenced March 2014) This is Jess and Rebecca’s real life experience of how OSCEs are preparing them for professional practice…

8. References Adams, J. D. , Mabusela, M. S
References Adams, J.D., Mabusela, M.S. (2013) Employing Role Play in Teaching and Learning: a case of higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education 27(3)2013 pp 489–500 East, L., Stokes, R. and Walker, M. (2013) Universities, public good and university education. Studies In Higher Education Vol. 39 , Iss. 9, Eva, K., Bordarge, G., Campbell C. (2016) Towards a program of assessment for health professionals: from training into practice. Adv in Health Sci Educ 21:897–913 Pugh, D., Hamstra, S., Wood T. (2014) A procedural skills OSCE: assessing technical and non-technical skills of internal medicine residents. Advances in Health Sciences Education 1 (20) Pugh, D., Touchie, C., Wood T. (2014) Progress testing: is there a role for the OSCE? Medical Education 48: 623–631

9. Department of Family Care and Mental Health Midwifery Heather Bower H
Department of Family Care and Mental Health Midwifery Heather Bower Jessica Bowden Rebecca Parkinson