Teaching efficacy of role playing in optometrist education

Simulation of the double role of patient and practitioner is a usual procedure for students in optometry clinical practice, but it is usually limited to the performance of visual assessment procedures and the Lecturer’s control is focused on these. In contrast, the way in which the practitioner builds the relationship with the patient, a key step in obtaining their cooperation during the measurement, is not given specific attention. This pilot project aims to test the effectiveness of role playing in creating and developing the interaction between patient and professional. The project in the first phase allows the teacher to verify through video recording the behavior of the pairs of students simulating the two roles and then critically analyze it with the students themselves; there is also an evaluation through questionnaires of self-perception reported by the students involved. In a second phase, the project plans to reevaluate through questionnaires how self-perception has been changed by the critical analysis of the video recordings collected in the first phase, with or without possible rotation of roles.