Computer simulations vs SPs

Choose your own adventure!
[La Vérendrye via wikimedia]

I don't know whether to be excited about or skeptical of SIMmersion. A little from Column A, a little from Column B, I guess.

I love technology. I love giving students more chances to practice difficult conversations. As an additional tool in the toolbox, this looks stellar. I can totally see learners using this to practice before an SP encounter.

But then I read things in their press release like:

"A computer screen might not be better for teaching the physical examination of a human, but interacting with a well-designed system is better for teaching students how to talk with a patient [than interacting with SPs]."

If they truly feel this way, and if this is the way they are marketing the product, then the whole foundation is suspect.

I actually went through their sample Motivational Interviewing scenario. Engaging with a computer is fun, and including the MI curriculum as a preview before and as a guide during the encounter is very effective.

But the timing and emotional range is all wrong. Learners, especially beginning ones, struggle with a number of things that can adversely affect patient interactions, like word choices and nonverbal cues. This is especially true in the context of a fast-paced encounter. It's much easier to pick the right statement when you have a limited number of options and as much time as you want to think about it.

Also, there is no verbal feedback in SIMmersions. I strongly believe immediate feedback/debrief with an experienced facilitator featuring student self-reflection is an incredibly effective component of learning. Instead, SIMmersions features a woman in the bottom corner of the screen who responds with appropriate body language based on your response, and offers suggestions for the most effective thing to say next.

I see the usefulness of SIMmersion primarily as an early part of skill acquisition. In my ideal curriculum, learners would develop a new skill like this: beginning with a lecture/introduction, then independent reading/videos, then observation, then SIMmersions, then group work, then SP work with timeouts and a facilitator, then a solo SP.

However, this whole things makes me think we're not far off from The Diamond Age's prediction of "ractors," who are essentially crowd-sourced, on-demand scenario actors able to perform anywhere. Wouldn't that be fun?