[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]
In an initiative by the University of Sydney Westmead Hospital Clinical School, actors are being employed to simulate patients in medical student exams. Senior Lecturer Dr Wendy Hu wanted to create fair yet challenging situations for students to learn how to relate to patients -– as they should in real life. Dr Hu says, “Using professional actors is fairer for students, and easier for us as educators than recruiting volunteers, which sometimes meant other doctors, med students, or office colleagues. Professional actors are trained to deliver the same performance and respond realistically to students.”
She approached NAFA, a Sydney-based networking group of actors and filmmakers, for the recent Obstetric and Gynaecology exams. Feedback indicated the examiners thought it was a definite improvement to have actors.
Head of NAFA Tony Chu, who is also an actor and doctor, is pleased that NAFA will be called upon for future exams. He says, “Our actors have been on stage, TV and film. They can reproduce the same dialogue and reactions consistently. Above all else, they have no emotional ties with the students.”
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Contact
Dr Tony Chu
Head, NAFA Productions
Mobile: 0412 230 415
Email: tony@nafa.net.au
Website: www.nafa.net.au
This story has been carried by The Sydney Morning Herald Online and news.com.au: