Do Students Learn From Playing the Patient? A Study of Peer Role-Play in Prehospital Simulation

Introduction Peer role-playing, in which medical students alternate between provider and patient roles, is a core component of peer-assisted learning. While the educational value of playing the provider is well established, the extent to which students gain medical knowledge through acting as patients remains unclear. Methods In this quantitative study with qualitative components, 178 first-year medical students portrayed patients during a high-fidelity prehospital simulation. Medical knowledge was assessed with a 21-item multiple-choice test after simulation (162 responses; 91.0% response rate). An open-ended reflection prompt captured students' perceived learning. Chi-square analyses compared knowledge performance between students who portrayed a given scenario (“Actors”) and those who did not (“nonactors”). Qualitative data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Quantitative analysis revealed no statistically significant differences in performance between actors and nonactors across test items ( P = 0.17–0.99). However, 160 students (89.9%) reported perceived gains in medical knowledge. Thematic analysis identified 3 primary learning mechanisms: observational learning, experiential learning, and direct instruction. Conclusions Although knowledge gains specific to patient roles were not captured through multiple-choice testing, students perceived substantial learning through peer role-play. The student-as-patient role may be intentionally designed to support cognitive as well as affective learning in simulation-based medical education.