gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: Most students cannot participate in the creation of their learning environments. At a Swiss school for nursing, students' acceptance of simulated patient (SP) cases conceived by educational designers is low. When evaluating SP encounters, students complain that the contents of the cases do not mirror their experience in clinical practice. To integrate students' experience and perspective when designing SP cases, a pilot project was conducted, in which four nursing students developed an SP case. Based on their experience in clinical practice, they wrote the role script for the SP, drew up the checklist and conducted the SP role training.

Method: A total of 180 students went through a simulation based on an SP case developed either by professionals or by students. In a questionnaire, students rated the case developed by their peers as more realistic. In addition, the four nursing students involved in the pilot project gathered valuable learning experience.

Discussion: Both students and professionals expressed predominantly positive opinions as to the possibility of letting students develop SP cases. However, the support and guidance faculty members provided to the students in the pilot project must not be underestimated.

Conclusion: The main conclusion from this pilot project is that participatory student design appears suitable for use in designing SP cases.

Take home message: Integrating the perspective and experience of students in the creation of learning environments can increase students' learning motivation.