Perceptions of two versions of a large-group simulated patient encounter: a comparative analysis

Abstract

This paper presents comparisons of learner perceptions between an in-person and distance interprofessional educational activity. A retrospective comparative analysis of data collected during post-activity evaluations following two versions (in-person; distance simulation-based) of a large-group simulated patient (SP) interprofessional education (IPE) simulation depicting a complex patient was used. The distance simulation-based encounter run in 2020 (the reformed event) was found to have more favourable opinions compared to the 2019 in-person one. The 2019 participants’ responses were more indicative of neutral and negative feelings of the activity compared to the participants from the 2020 distance simulation-based encounter. This study demonstrates that large-group SP encounters can serve as appropriate platforms for IPE activities when in-person or at a distance. The findings of this study help to demonstrate how distance-simulation encounters used for IPE can be used to provide meaningful learning.