Role-plays: a creative and versatile teaching-learning method in medical education 
I read with great interest the article ‘Using case-based role-play to learn professionalism in Pharmacology’ [1]. The authors used case scenarios related to social media use, repeated small acts of defiance, making others complete your assignments, revealing a medical error/ admitting your mistake, and copying in tests/exams. The description of the case scenarios, the associated questions, and the student reflection are comprehensive.
My colleagues and I have used case scenarios for several years. In Pharmacology medical students counselled a simulated patient on the management of common disease conditions including epilepsy (grand mal), multi- and pauci-bacillary leprosy, bronchial asthma, chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant malaria, iron-deficiency anaemia, enteric fever, insomnia, diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2, hypertension, hypertension with bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, peptic ulcer, use of oral and injectable contraceptives, scabies and acute gastroenteritis [2].
My colleagues and I also used role-plays during a Medical Humanities module [3]. The module addressed topics like empathy, what it means to be sick, the patient, the doctor, the patient-doctor relationship, the family, and the medical student. As mentioned by the authors, role plays provide an excellent opportunity for the student to put himself/herself in the position of another person and aid in perspective taking. Our students explained how they go about understanding the role-play, deciding on the characters, enacting the role-play, and addressing/exploring the scenario presented [4]. The authors [1] provided students with the role-play a week in advance, while we usually provide the role-play during the sessions. Both methods have their advantages and drawbacks. We use role-plays during multiple sessions, providing students with feedback and opportunities to improve during subsequent sessions. Providing the scenario in advance allows students to use costumes and props during the role-play, as mentioned. However, we found that students are creative and can improvise costumes and props from the resources available to them in the room. The small number of students made it easier for us to use role-plays during sessions.
In two medical colleges in India, role-plays were used as a learning tool in the teaching of clinical medicine, and the researchers assessed their efficacy in understanding clinical scenarios and honing medical students’ linguistic and examination skills [5]. In the United States, role-plays were used to teach faculty, residents, and students how to recognize, address, and prevent mistreatment [6]. The Attitude, Ethics and Communications (AETCOM) module mentions role-plays as a teaching-learning method. Role-plays have also been used to sensitize students about pharmaceutical promotion [7]. Simulated patients and role-plays were used to teach students communication skills with patients [8].
The authors of the study [1] were from the department of Pharmacology, but the issues explored were not restricted to the discipline. I did not see a description of the debriefing of participants after the role-play. My colleagues and I have used debriefing as an effective method to stimulate reflection. We try to explore how the student got into the character portrayed and the challenges they faced, and how these were overcome. The number of students in Indian medical colleges is high, so students may have to be divided into batches and subgroups, or the logistics to carry out the session simultaneously for the entire cohort should be worked out.
This is a relevant initiative from the authors, and they can conduct more sessions in the future and use role-plays to address other issues in medical education. Other medical colleges should also use role-plays as an effective, interesting, and creative teaching-learning method.  
References
1. Mathew RA, Kumar A, Wilfred PM, Shanthi M. Using case-based role-play to learn professionalism in Pharmacology. Indian J Med Ethics. https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2024.086
2. Shankar PR, Subish P, Dubey AK, Mishra P. Postgraduate students as simulated patients in communication skills learning and assessment. Pharmacy Education. 2006 [cited 2025 Apr 24];6(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/15602210600772276
3. Shankar PR, Piryani RM, Singh KK, Karki BM. Student feedback about the use of role plays in Sparshanam, a medical humanities module. F1000Res. 2012 Dec 13;1:65. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.1-65.v1
4. Shankar PR, Rose C, Toor A. Student Feedback About the Medical Humanities Module in a Caribbean Medical School. Education in Medicine Journal. 2016 Jan 1;8(1). https://eduimed.usm.my/EIMJ20160801/EIMJ20160801_05.pdf
5. Acharya S, Shukla S, Acharya N, Vagha J, Vagha J. Role play-an effective tool to teach clinical medicine. J Contemp Med Educ. 2014;2(2):91-6. https://doi.org/10.5455/jcme.20140619111139
6. Heru AM. Role play in medical education to address student mistreatment. AMA J Ethics. 2014 Mar 1;16(3):177-81. https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/role-play-medical-education-address-student-mistreatment/2014-03
7. Civaner MM. A follow-up study on the effects of an educational intervention against pharmaceutical promotion. PLoS One. 2020 Oct 28;15(10):e0240713. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240713
8. Bagacean C, Cousin I, Ubertini AH, El Yacoubi El Idrissi M, Bordron A, Mercadie L, Garcia LC, Ianotto JC, De Vries P, Berthou C. Simulated patient and role play methodologies for communication skills and empathy training of undergraduate medical students. BMC Med Educ. 2020 Dec;20:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02401-0

• Affiliation: IMU University
• Country: Malaysia