Effectiveness of Roleplay in Medical Education: A Research Proposal

This research proposal investigates the impact of roleplay in simulation-based medical education on the development of empathy in undergraduate medical students. The study employs a quasi-experimental design, utilizing pre- and post-tests to measure changes in empathy levels. Data collection includes questionnaires based on Jefferson's Scale of Empathy, focusing on perspective-taking, compassion, and emotional understanding. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with students acting as patients to gauge their anxiety, helplessness, and comfort levels in various scenarios. The proposal aims to assess how roleplay simulation influences empathy constructs and student experiences, including the use of matrix-grid questionnaires and focus group discussions to explore the role of anatomy knowledge and teaching methods like Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL). The research intends to evaluate the effectiveness of roleplay in enhancing empathy and providing insights into the experiences of medical students in simulation training.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Appendix 1- Questionnaire Content
As per Jefferson’s Scale of Empathy, there are mainly three components that can be subjected to
measurement in order to measure the level of empathy in the undergraduate medical students.
Those components are perspective taking, care that involves compassion and being in the
patient’s shoes (Hojat et al. 2018). The questionnaires will be based on those components along
with focused on a few sensitive situations. The objectives are as following,
1. To consider a negative situation from the patient’s perspective.
2. To understand the need of compassion in the patients from a patient’s perspective.
3. To feel the emotions and mental conditions of a patient by playing the role of the patient.
4. To understand the gravity of a situation from the patient’s perspective in order to
empathize with the patient.
Appendix 2- Semi Structured Interviews Draft Questions
The questions for the students playing the role of the patients, will be as followed,
1. How much anxiety do you feel on a scale of 1 to 10 when you are informed that you have
a high risk of developing a certain disability or death?
2. How much helplessness you feel on a scale of 1 to 10, if the doctor is not considerate of
your situation and behaves rudely with you?
3. What is your level of anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10 if the doctor delivers the news to you
without being compassionate?
4. What is the level of comfort you feel if the news is delivered to you with a show of
compassion along with the presentation of a hopeful scenario to you?

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Reference:
Hojat, M., DeSantis, J., Shannon, S.C., Mortensen, L.H., Speicher, M.R., Bragan, L., LaNoue,
M. and Calabrese, L.H., 2018. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy: a nationwide study of
measurement properties, underlying components, latent variable structure, and national norms in
medical students. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 23(5), pp.899-920