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Fun and Effective Problem Solving Scenarios for Elementary Students

Key takeaways.

• Problem-solving skills are crucial for the development of elementary students, aiding in academic, personal, and social growth.
• Fun and engaging scenarios can effectively teach these skills, including situations like The Lost Toy, The Broken Pencil, and The Group Project.
• Teaching specific problem-solving strategies, encouraging critical thinking, and fostering collaboration and communication are essential strategies to enhance these skills.
• Integrating problem-solving scenarios and strategies into teaching practices can help students develop critical thinking, creativity, and effective decision-making abilities.

Introduction: Fun and Effective Problem-Solving Scenarios for Elementary Students

In this post, I will discuss the importance of problem-solving skills in elementary students and how social-emotional learning can play a crucial role in developing these skills. I will also provide fun and effective problem-solving scenarios that you can use with your students. Let’s dive in!

Understanding Problem Solving

Before we jump into the problem-solving scenarios, let’s first understand what problem-solving is all about. Problem solving is the process of finding solutions to challenges or obstacles that we encounter in our daily lives. It involves identifying the problem, brainstorming possible solutions, evaluating those solutions, and selecting the best one.

Developing problem-solving skills in elementary students is essential as it helps them become independent thinkers, critical thinkers, and effective decision-makers. These skills not only benefit them academically but also in their personal and social lives.

Fun Problem-Solving Scenarios for Elementary Students

Now, let’s explore some fun problem-solving scenarios that you can use with your elementary students. These scenarios are designed to be engaging and interactive, allowing students to apply their problem-solving skills in a practical and enjoyable way.

Scenario 1: The Lost Toy

Description: Imagine a student has lost their favorite toy. They have searched their room but can’t find it anywhere.

Steps to solve the problem:

• Identify the problem: The student has lost their toy.
• Brainstorm possible solutions: Ask the student to think of different places where the toy could be.
• Evaluate the solutions: Discuss the pros and cons of each possible solution.
• Select the best solution: Help the student choose the most effective solution, such as retracing their steps or asking family members for help.

Discussion on possible solutions and their outcomes: After the student has implemented the chosen solution, discuss the outcome. Did they find the toy? If not, what other steps could they take to solve the problem?

Scenario 2: The Broken Pencil

Description: A student is working on an assignment when their pencil breaks.

• Identify the problem: The student’s pencil has broken.
• Brainstorm possible solutions: Encourage the student to think of different ways they can continue their work without a pencil.
• Evaluate the solutions: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.
• Select the best solution: Help the student choose the most practical solution, such as borrowing a pencil from a classmate or using a pen.

Discussion on possible solutions and their outcomes: After the student has implemented the chosen solution, discuss the outcome. Did they complete their assignment successfully? If not, what other steps could they take to solve the problem?

Scenario 3: The Group Project

Description: A group of students is working on a project together, but they are having difficulty agreeing on a topic.

• Identify the problem: The group is struggling to agree on a project topic.
• Brainstorm possible solutions: Encourage each student to suggest project topics and discuss the merits of each idea.
• Evaluate the solutions: Help the group evaluate the feasibility and interest level of each topic.
• Select the best solution: Facilitate a group discussion to reach a consensus on the project topic.

Discussion on possible solutions and their outcomes: After the group has chosen a project topic, discuss the outcome. Did they work well together? If not, what other steps could they take to solve the problem?

Strategies to Enhance Problem-Solving Skills

Now that we have explored some problem-solving scenarios, let’s discuss strategies to enhance problem-solving skills in elementary students. These strategies can be incorporated into your teaching practices to help students develop and strengthen their problem-solving abilities.

Teach problem-solving strategies

One effective way to enhance problem-solving skills is to teach students specific problem-solving strategies. Here are a few strategies you can introduce:

• Brainstorming: Encourage students to generate multiple ideas or solutions to a problem.
• Breaking down the problem: Teach students to break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable parts.
• Considering different perspectives: Help students develop empathy and consider different viewpoints when solving problems.
• Evaluating and selecting the best solution: Teach students how to evaluate the pros and cons of each solution and choose the most effective one.

Encourage critical thinking

Critical thinking is an essential component of problem solving. By encouraging critical thinking, you can help students develop their analytical and evaluative skills. Here are a few ways to promote critical thinking:

• Asking open-ended questions: Pose questions that require students to think deeply and provide thoughtful responses.
• Promoting creative thinking: Encourage students to think outside the box and explore innovative solutions to problems.
• Providing opportunities for decision-making: Allow students to make decisions independently and reflect on the consequences of their choices.

Foster collaboration and communication

Problem solving often involves working with others and effective communication. By fostering collaboration and communication skills, you can help students navigate group problem-solving situations more effectively. Here are a few strategies to foster collaboration and communication:

• Group problem-solving activities: Assign students to work in groups to solve problems together, encouraging them to share ideas and work collaboratively.
• Role-playing scenarios: Engage students in role-playing activities where they can practice problem-solving and communication skills in a simulated setting.
• Effective communication techniques: Teach students active listening, expressing ideas clearly, and resolving conflicts constructively.

Problem-solving skills are crucial for elementary students as they lay the foundation for success in various aspects of life. By incorporating problem-solving scenarios and strategies into your teaching practices, you can help students develop these essential skills. Remember, problem solving is not only about finding the right answer but also about developing critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. So, let’s encourage our students to embrace problem-solving and watch them thrive!

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Role-Playing Scenarios in Training: Pros and Cons

Role-playing scenarios in training have become a popular method for experiential learning and skill development. This approach allows participants to immerse themselves in simulated real-life situations, fostering a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

While role-playing scenarios offer numerous benefits, they also present unique challenges. This introduction aims to explore the pros and cons of incorporating role-playing scenarios in training programs, providing valuable insights for trainers and facilitators.

By critically examining the advantages and potential drawbacks, this discussion aims to offer a balanced perspective on the efficacy of role-playing scenarios as a training tool.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Role-playing scenarios in training have numerous advantages such as fostering practical skill development, increasing confidence, improving communication skills, and promoting collaboration.
• Realistic assessment and performance evaluation in role-playing scenarios can be challenging due to the need to balance realism with participant comfort levels, ensure relevance to the work environment, and provide effective feedback.
• Developing empathy during role-playing scenarios requires creating a safe and supportive environment, addressing participants’ discomfort and struggles, and facilitating open and honest dialogue.
• Effective management of participant discomfort in role-playing scenarios involves providing a supportive environment, implementing engagement strategies, equipping trainers with effective communication skills, and establishing feedback mechanisms.

Advantages of Role-Playing Scenarios

Role-playing scenarios in training offer participants the opportunity to actively engage with realistic workplace situations, fostering practical skill development and enhancing problem-solving abilities. One of the key advantages of role-playing scenarios is the increased confidence they instill in participants. By immersing themselves in these simulated scenarios, individuals can practice handling challenging situations in a safe environment, leading to a boost in their self-assurance when they encounter similar circumstances in the actual workplace.

Moreover, role-playing scenarios contribute significantly to improved communication skills. Participants have the chance to practice expressing their ideas, actively listening to others, and navigating conversations in a professional setting. This hands-on experience helps individuals become more adept at articulating their thoughts, understanding their colleagues’ perspectives, and effectively conveying information. As a result, they develop the ability to communicate clearly and assertively, which is invaluable in various professional contexts.

Enhanced Skill Acquisition

Enhanced skill acquisition is essential for professionals to remain competitive in today’s dynamic work environment. Role-playing scenarios in training have been shown to significantly contribute to improved skill acquisition through various mechanisms:

Improved Retention : When professionals engage in role-playing scenarios, they are more likely to retain the knowledge and skills gained. The interactive nature of role-playing promotes active learning, leading to better retention of information compared to traditional learning methods.

Interactive Learning : Role-playing encourages active participation, allowing professionals to engage with the material in a hands-on manner. This interactive learning approach fosters a deeper understanding of concepts and practical application of skills.

Role Play Effectiveness : Role-playing scenarios provide a safe space for professionals to practice and refine their skills. This experiential education allows individuals to confront real-world challenges in a controlled setting, leading to enhanced skill acquisition.

Experiential Education : Through role-playing, professionals can simulate realistic workplace scenarios, providing a platform for practical skill development. This experiential learning methodology has been found to be highly effective in enhancing skill acquisition and performance.

Increased Engagement and Motivation

The professionals’ increased engagement and motivation during training sessions have been linked to improved performance and skill acquisition. When individuals are actively engaged in role-playing scenarios, they are more likely to experience increased confidence in their abilities. This heightened confidence can lead to a more positive attitude towards learning and skill development.

Moreover, the interactive nature of role-playing scenarios encourages creative problem solving. As professionals immerse themselves in different scenarios, they are prompted to think on their feet, adapt to changing circumstances, and devise innovative solutions. This not only enhances their problem-solving skills but also fosters a proactive and dynamic approach to challenges in the workplace.

Additionally, the collaborative nature of role-playing scenarios can further boost motivation as individuals work together towards a common goal, fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared accomplishment.

Realistic Learning Environment

The creation of a realistic learning environment through role-playing scenarios is essential for enhancing practical skills.

This approach promotes critical thinking by challenging participants to apply their knowledge in simulated real-life situations.

Additionally, it encourages active participation and engagement, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Enhances Practical Skills

In creating a realistic learning environment, role-playing scenarios in training enable participants to actively engage in practical skills through immersive experiences. This experiential learning approach fosters practical application, allowing individuals to apply theoretical knowledge in simulated real-world situations.

The enhancement of practical skills is achieved through:

• Active participation in realistic scenarios
• Immediate feedback for skill improvement
• Development of problem-solving abilities
• Improvement of communication and interpersonal skills

Promotes Critical Thinking

Promoting critical thinking within a realistic learning environment is achieved through role-playing scenarios in training. These scenarios engage participants in analytical decision-making and strategic problem-solving. By simulating real-world situations, participants are prompted to think critically and make decisions based on the information at hand. This process requires individuals to assess, analyze, and evaluate the circumstances, thus honing their critical thinking abilities.

Moreover, role-playing scenarios often present complex problems that necessitate effective problem-solving skills. Participants are encouraged to explore different perspectives, weigh alternatives, and devise effective solutions. This enhances their ability to address challenges in a structured and logical manner.

The dynamic nature of role-playing scenarios prompts individuals to think on their feet and adapt to changing scenarios. This fosters a realistic learning environment that effectively promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Encourages Active Participation

Encouraging active participation in a realistic learning environment, role-playing scenarios in training immerse participants in hands-on, practical experiences. This approach fosters active learning and experiential education by creating an environment where individuals are encouraged to engage, interact, and make decisions in real-time, mirroring situations they may encounter in their professional roles.

The benefits of this method include:

• Enhanced engagement through active involvement in simulated scenarios
• Opportunity for participants to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations
• Development of problem-solving skills in a realistic context
• Improvement of communication and interpersonal skills through interaction with other participants

Challenges of Role-Playing Scenarios

The challenges of role-playing scenarios in training are multifaceted.

Firstly, they provide a platform for realistic skill assessment, enabling participants to showcase their abilities in a simulated environment.

Secondly, these scenarios offer opportunities for empathy development, as individuals step into the shoes of different roles.

Lastly, managing participant discomfort during role-playing can be a challenge, but it also presents a chance for growth and learning in handling challenging situations.

Realistic Skill Assessment

In assessing realistic skills through role-playing scenarios, trainers encounter various challenges that require thoughtful consideration and adaptation. The challenges of realistic assessment and performance evaluation in role-playing scenarios include:

• Balancing realism with participant comfort levels
• Ensuring scenarios are relevant to the actual work environment
• Providing effective feedback that encourages skill improvement
• Managing the emotional impact on participants during intense scenarios

Trainers must navigate these challenges to create role-playing scenarios that accurately assess and enhance participants’ skills.

Striking a balance between realistic assessment and participant comfort is crucial for creating an environment where individuals can effectively demonstrate their skills. Additionally, aligning scenarios with the actual work environment ensures that the skills assessed are applicable to real-world situations. Constructive feedback and emotional support are also vital for maximizing the learning outcomes of role-playing scenarios.

Empathy Development Opportunities

Developing empathy in participants during role-playing scenarios presents unique challenges that require careful navigation and consideration.

While role-playing can provide valuable empathy practice by allowing participants to step into the shoes of others, it also requires facilitators to create a safe and supportive environment for communication improvement.

Empathy development opportunities in role-playing scenarios can be hindered by participants’ discomfort in expressing emotions or understanding perspectives different from their own. Additionally, some individuals may struggle to separate themselves from their own experiences and biases, making it challenging for them to fully embrace the feelings and experiences of the role they are embodying.

Moreover, communication improvement may be impeded by participants’ reluctance to engage in open and honest dialogue, hindering their ability to truly connect with others in the scenario.

Therefore, facilitators must skillfully guide participants through these challenges to ensure meaningful empathy development and communication enhancement.

Participant Discomfort Management

Participant discomfort presents a significant challenge in effectively managing role-playing scenarios within training programs. Discomfort management is crucial to ensure that participants are able to fully engage in the learning process.

To address this challenge, the following strategies can be implemented:

Participant support: Providing a supportive environment where participants feel safe to express themselves without fear of judgment.

Engagement strategies: Implementing various techniques to keep participants engaged and focused on the learning objectives, such as incorporating interactive elements into the role-playing scenarios.

Communication techniques: Equipping trainers with effective communication skills to navigate sensitive topics and facilitate constructive discussions about discomfort.

Feedback mechanisms: Establishing feedback loops to allow participants to express their concerns and provide input on how to improve the role-playing experience.

Overcoming Discomfort and Resistance

To effectively address discomfort and resistance in role-playing scenarios during training, it is essential to create a supportive and non-judgmental environment for participants. Overcoming resistance and building confidence are crucial aspects of this process. Encouraging open communication and emphasizing that the role-playing exercises are a safe space for learning and growth can help participants feel more comfortable and less resistant to engaging in the scenarios.

Incorporating icebreakers or team-building activities at the beginning of the training can also help ease discomfort and resistance. These activities can help participants feel more connected to one another and to the training facilitators, fostering a sense of trust and camaraderie that can positively impact their willingness to engage in role-playing scenarios.

Furthermore, providing clear objectives and expectations for the role-playing exercises can give participants a sense of structure and purpose, which can help alleviate discomfort and resistance. When participants understand the potential benefits of the training and feel supported throughout the process, they are more likely to overcome their initial hesitations and fully engage in the learning experience.

Time and Resource Constraints

Addressing time and resource constraints in role-playing scenarios during training requires careful planning and prioritization of key learning objectives. Effective time management and resource allocation are essential for ensuring that role-playing scenarios are impactful and efficient.

Here are some key considerations for addressing time and resource constraints:

Prioritize Learning Objectives: Identify the most critical learning objectives that need to be addressed through role-playing scenarios. This prioritization will help in allocating time and resources to the most important aspects of training.

Modular Scenario Design: Break down the role-playing scenarios into modular components to make efficient use of limited time. This approach allows for flexibility in conducting shorter scenarios that still achieve the desired learning outcomes.

Resource Optimization: Utilize available resources judiciously. This may involve leveraging existing materials, such as pre-designed scenarios or digital platforms, to minimize the need for additional resources.

Time-Bound Exercises: Implement time constraints within role-playing scenarios to ensure that training remains focused and on schedule. This approach also encourages participants to make decisions within realistic time frames, mirroring real-world situations.

In conclusion, role-playing scenarios in training offer advantages such as enhanced skill acquisition, increased engagement, and a realistic learning environment.

However, challenges including discomfort and resistance, as well as time and resource constraints, must be overcome.

Like a ship navigating through turbulent waters, role-playing scenarios can be a powerful tool for learning, but they require careful navigation to reach their full potential.

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Expressions of critical thinking in role-playing simulations: comparisons across roles

• Published: 22 April 2010
• Volume 22 , pages 73–94, ( 2010 )

Cite this article

• Peggy A. Ertmer 1 ,
• Johannes Strobel 1 ,
• Xi Cheng 1 ,
• Xiaojun Chen 1 ,
• Hannah Kim 1 ,
• Larissa Olesova 1 ,
• Ayesha Sadaf 1 &
• Annette Tomory 1  

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26 Citations

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The development of critical thinking is crucial in professional education to augment the capabilities of pre-professional students. One method for enhancing critical thinking is participation in role-playing simulation-based scenarios where students work together to resolve a potentially real situation. In this study, undergraduate nursing students were divided into small groups (2–3) to role-play a medical emergency (stroke) within a high fidelity simulation environment. The research team utilized a cross-case comparison design; cases were defined by the different roles played by the nursing students (e.g., primary nurse, secondary nurse, and family member). Results indicated that although students in all three roles displayed instances of reflection, contextual perspective, and logical reasoning, these were not distributed evenly across roles, with family members demonstrating fewer instances of reflection and logical reasoning and secondary nurses demonstrating fewer instances of contextual perspective. However, evidence of students’ abilities to apply clinical standards was observed fairly equally across all three roles. Implications for the use of role-plays within high-fidelity simulations are discussed.

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Acknowledgment

The researchers express their sincere gratitude to Dr. Maria Young and Ms. Lyn Nuti for their guidance in designing and implementing the study, and to the 17 nursing students who willingly participated. We dedicate this work to our dear friend, Xi. We continue to be inspired by memories of her great dedication and passion.

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Purdue University, Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education, 100 N. University St., West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2098, USA

Peggy A. Ertmer, Johannes Strobel, Xi Cheng, Xiaojun Chen, Hannah Kim, Larissa Olesova, Ayesha Sadaf & Annette Tomory

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Correspondence to Peggy A. Ertmer .

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Ertmer, P.A., Strobel, J., Cheng, X. et al. Expressions of critical thinking in role-playing simulations: comparisons across roles. J Comput High Educ 22 , 73–94 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-010-9030-7

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Published : 22 April 2010

Issue Date : August 2010

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-010-9030-7

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Strategic Minds, Creative Souls: Role-Playing Games and Critical Thinking

Table of Contents

Role-Playing Games as Cognitive Workshops

As you step into the intricate worlds of role-playing games, a subtle yet profound transition takes place—a transition from casual gaming to engaging in strategic challenges that stimulate your critical thinking skills. Role-playing games are more than just digital adventures; they are cognitive workshops that provide a platform for honing your intellect and embracing the marriage of strategy and creativity.

Transitioning from Casual to Strategic Engagement

The beauty of role-playing games lies in their transition from simple entertainment to engaging cognitive exercises. These games demand more than reflexes; they require a deliberate transition from reactive play to thoughtful decision-making. Each action you take represents a transition—a shift from spontaneous reactions to calculated moves that consider consequences, rewards, and potential risks. This transition from carefree gaming to strategic engagement marks the beginning of your journey into the realm of critical thinking .

Stimulating Critical Thinking Skills

Role-playing games provide a unique transition—from the passive consumption of media to active participation in complex scenarios that demand strategic thinking. As you navigate transitions from one scenario to the next, you’re constantly challenged to assess situations, analyze variables, and weigh outcomes. This transition from linear gameplay to multi-dimensional strategizing enhances your critical thinking skills, encouraging transitions from surface-level observation to deep analysis.

Embracing Transitions from Entertainment to Intellectual Challenges

Role-playing games offer a transition that extends beyond mere entertainment—they present intellectual challenges that demand your creativity and reasoning. The transition from seeking diversion to engaging in cognitive exercise shifts your focus from passive enjoyment to active mental exploration. As you immerse yourself in the game’s universe, each decision becomes a transition—a step that propels you from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from reactive thinking to thoughtful contemplation.

Transitioning to a World of Strategic Creativity

The transition from casual play to strategic engagement is where the true magic of role-playing games lies. These games become portals that transport you from mundane routines to dynamic situations that demand inventive solutions. The transition from scripted narratives to interactive decision-making allows you to transition from being an observer to being an active participant in shaping the outcomes. As you navigate these transitions, you’re cultivating a world of strategic creativity—a space where intellectual growth and imaginative solutions flourish.

Transitions that Shape Thought Processes

In the realm of role-playing games, the transitions are not merely virtual—they shape the way you approach challenges in the real world. The transition from casual gamer to strategic thinker is an evolution that transcends the boundaries of the game . The cognitive transitions from reactive to calculated, from spontaneous to deliberate, are skills that extend beyond the screen. They become transitions that shape thought processes, preparing you to transition from everyday problems to complex scenarios with confidence and insight.

Navigating Complex Scenarios and Decision-Making

Within the captivating world of role-playing games, a transformative transition unfolds—one that shifts your approach from reactive responses to calculated decisions. As you navigate through intricate scenarios, the transitions from mere actions to strategic moves become evident. Role-playing games are not just about playing characters; they’re about making informed choices that lead to dynamic outcomes.

Transitioning from Reactive to Calculated Decisions

Role-playing games encourage a significant transition in your decision-making process. The transition from hasty choices to thoughtful decisions marks your evolution from reactive to proactive play. This transition is pivotal, as it signifies the shift from impulsive responses to calculated strategies. As you transition from immediate reactions to well-considered moves, you embrace the essence of critical thinking—a skill that serves you not only in the game but also in real-life scenarios.

Showcasing Thoughtful Choices

In the realm of role-playing games, transitions from trivial actions to meaningful choices are at the core of gameplay. These transitions underscore the significance of decision-making as a pivotal skill. The transition from selecting an option to evaluating its consequences mirrors the transitions from superficial engagement to strategic involvement. Each decision becomes a transition that leads to further developments, demonstrating the power of foresight and strategy.

Exploring Transitions within Dynamic Narratives

Role-playing games are built upon the concept of interactive storytelling, where transitions from player choices to narrative outcomes shape the overall experience. These transitions reflect the interconnectedness of decisions and consequences—a dynamic mirrored in real-life scenarios. As you navigate the transitions from character actions to story developments, you’re immersing yourself in a web of choices, consequences, and the transitions that bind them.

A Transition towards Informed Strategy

Role-playing games invite you to transition from mere participants to shrewd strategists. The transitions from selecting options randomly to analyzing situations methodically signify your journey towards informed decision-making. These transitions foster a sense of responsibility, as the outcomes are shaped by your choices. The transition from enjoying the journey to strategically shaping it highlights the balance between creative expression and calculated moves.

The Art of Strategic Transitions

In role-playing games, the transitions from scenario to scenario, from challenge to choice, are not arbitrary—they’re the art of strategic transitions. As you engage in this intricate dance of decision-making, you’re refining your ability to transition from evaluating pros and cons to foreseeing potential outcomes. These transitions highlight the delicate balance between instinct and strategy—a balance that enriches your cognitive toolkit and empowers your critical thinking abilities.

Planning, Adaptation, and Problem-Solving

In the dynamic landscape of role-playing games, a fascinating transition occurs—one that leads to adaptive strategies, dynamic problem-solving, and the cultivation of creative solutions. As you immerse yourself in the complex scenarios presented, the transition from linear planning to flexible approaches becomes evident. This transition from challenge to opportunity showcases the transformative power of strategic thinking within role-playing games.

Transitioning from Linear Planning to Adaptive Strategies

Role-playing games offer a valuable transition—from rigid planning to agile strategies that evolve in response to changing circumstances. The transition from following a pre-determined path to adapting on the fly mirrors the transitions from scripted narratives to interactive gameplay. As you embrace the transition from certainty to flexibility, you unlock a new dimension of critical thinking—one that empowers you to navigate transitions from unpredictability to ingenuity.

Fostering Dynamic Problem-Solving Skills

Role-playing games provide a transition from linear solutions to dynamic problem-solving. In the face of challenges, you transition from seeking predefined answers to exploring innovative approaches. These transitions highlight your ability to navigate transitions from unfamiliar situations to creative resolutions. The game becomes a playground for experimenting with transitions, fostering your capacity to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Navigating Transitions from Challenge to Opportunity

The beauty of role-playing games lies in their ability to reframe challenges as opportunities for growth. The transition from encountering obstacles to seeking solutions is where creativity flourishes. As you transition from confronting adversity to harnessing your strategic prowess, you transform transitions from setbacks to stepping stones. This dynamic transition highlights the art of turning challenges into triumphs through creative thinking.

Embracing Transitions from Scripted Solutions to Creative Resolutions

In the realm of role-playing games, transitions from predefined answers to creative solutions are where your strategic mind truly shines. The game’s scenarios are not puzzles with fixed solutions; they’re canvases that invite you to transition from routine thinking to imaginative problem-solving. The transitions from choosing the conventional path to forging an unconventional route reflect the power of creativity in navigating transitions from limitations to boundless potential.

A Playground for Strategic Creativity

Role-playing games are more than virtual adventures; they’re platforms for strategic creativity. The transitions from scripted strategies to dynamic adaptation foster a sense of empowerment. As you explore the realm of problem-solving, transitions from linear thought to innovative approaches reveal the versatility of your cognitive toolkit. The transitions from challenge to triumph, from uncertainty to ingenious solutions, shape the landscape of your strategic mind.

Transcending the Virtual, Honing the Real

Within the immersive realm of role-playing games, a profound transition occurs—one that transcends the virtual world and hones your real-life skills. As you navigate the transitions from virtual conquests to applying critical thinking in reality, you unearth the transferable skills that extend far beyond the digital screen.

Transitioning from Virtual Conquests to Real-World Applications

The magic of role-playing games lies in their ability to influence your real-world thinking. The transition from in-game challenges to real-life scenarios is seamless, allowing you to draw parallels between the two. As you transition from virtual conquests to applying lessons learned, you’re equipping yourself to navigate transitions from digital landscapes to the complexities of the tangible world .

Celebrating the Transferable Skills of Critical Thinking

Role-playing games offer more than entertainment—they nurture skills that transition into your everyday life. The transitions from strategic planning to thoughtful decision-making, from adaptive problem-solving to creative solutions, extend beyond the game’s confines. These transitions celebrate the versatility of your critical thinking abilities, illustrating how the skills honed in the virtual realm have real-world applications.

Navigating Transitions from Virtual Worlds to Cognitive Abilities

Role-playing games become a bridge between the virtual and the cognitive. As you transition from fictional adventures to sharpening your intellect, you’re navigating transitions from imaginative play to practical cognitive abilities. The lessons learned in the virtual world transition seamlessly to your analytical skills, encouraging you to transition from routine thought processes to applying strategic insights in real-life situations.

Embracing Intellectual Enrichment through Transitions

In the realm of role-playing games, the transitions are not confined to pixels and screens—they extend to personal development. The transitions from strategic gameplay to insightful decision-making are where the true value lies. As you immerse yourself in these transitions, you embrace intellectual enrichment—a transformation that mirrors the transitions from a passive participant to an empowered thinker.

Transitions that Shape Future Endeavors

The transitions fostered by role-playing games serve as stepping stones for future endeavors. The transition from virtual engagement to practical application showcases how critical thinking transitions from a skill to a mindset. The ability to navigate transitions from game mechanics to real-life challenges empowers you to transition from being a participant in your journey to a strategist shaping your path.

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Effective Delegation Role Play Training Scenarios

Time management role play training scenarios, strategic thinking role play training scenarios, collaboration role play training scenarios, critical thinking role play training scenarios, step 1: topic selection and narrowing down, step 2: interviewing an sme/reviewing the recording, step 3: creating a high-level structure.

Step 4: Working on the Interface

Step 5: designing graphics, step 6: polishing the role play, step 7: role play implementation and evaluation.

• Set Clear Objectives:  Before you start, define what you want to achieve with the role-play. What skills or situations are you targeting? Having clear objectives will guide the training.
• Prepare Realistic Scenarios:  Create scenarios that mimic real-life situations as closely as possible. This helps participants connect their learning to their actual roles.
• Provide Guidelines:  Give participants guidelines and background information about their roles and the scenario. This helps them step into character effectively.
• Rotate Roles:  Encourage participants to switch roles during different scenarios. This allows everyone to experience various perspectives and challenges.
• Feedback and Debrief:  After each role-play, have a debriefing session. Discuss what went well and what could be improved. Constructive feedback is essential for growth.
• Encourage Open Dialogue:  Create a safe and open environment where participants can express themselves freely. This builds trust and makes the training more effective.
• Use Video Recording:  If possible, record the role-plays. Watching the recordings can be a powerful learning tool, helping participants see their strengths and areas for improvement.
• Keep it Engaging:  Role-play can be fun and engaging. Inject enthusiasm and energy into the training to keep everyone involved and motivated.
• Practice, Practice, Practice:  Like any skill, the more you practice, the better you become. So, repeat role-play sessions periodically to reinforce learning.

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• Creating Effective Scenarios, Case Studies and Role Plays

Creating effective scenarios, case studies and role plays

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Scenarios, case studies and role plays are examples of active and collaborative teaching techniques that research confirms are effective for the deep learning needed for students to be able to remember and apply concepts once they have finished your course. See  Research Findings on University Teaching Methods .

Typically you would use case studies, scenarios and role plays for higher-level learning outcomes that require application, synthesis, and evaluation (see  Writing Outcomes or Learning Objectives ; scroll down to the table).

The point is to increase student interest and involvement, and have them practice application by making choices and receive feedback on them, and refine their understanding of concepts and practice in your discipline.

These types of activities provide the following research-based benefits: (Shaw, 3-5)

• They provide concrete examples of abstract concepts, facilitate the development through practice of analytical skills, procedural experience, and decision making skills through application of course concepts in real life situations. This can result in deep learning and the appreciation of differing perspectives.
• They can result in changed perspectives, increased empathy for others, greater insights into challenges faced by others, and increased civic engagement.
• They tend to increase student motivation and interest, as evidenced by increased rates of attendance, completion of assigned readings, and time spent on course work outside of class time.
• Studies show greater/longer retention of learned materials.
• The result is often better teacher/student relations and a more relaxed environment in which the natural exchange of ideas can take place. Students come to see the instructor in a more positive light.
• They often result in better understanding of complexity of situations. They provide a good forum for a large volume of orderly written analysis and discussion.

There are benefits for instructors as well, such as keeping things fresh and interesting in courses they teach repeatedly; providing good feedback on what students are getting and not getting; and helping in standing and promotion in institutions that value teaching and learning.

Outcomes and learning activity alignment

The learning activity should have a clear, specific skills and/or knowledge development purpose that is evident to both instructor and students. Students benefit from knowing the purpose of the exercise, learning outcomes it strives to achieve, and evaluation methods. The example shown in the table below is for a case study, but the focus on demonstration of what students will know and can do, and the alignment with appropriate learning activities to achieve those abilities applies to other learning activities.

(Smith, 18)

What’s the difference?

Scenarios are typically short and used to illustrate or apply one main concept. The point is to reinforce concepts and skills as they are taught by providing opportunity to apply them. Scenarios can also be more elaborate, with decision points and further scenario elaboration (multiple storylines), depending on responses. CETL has experience developing scenarios with multiple decision points and branching storylines with UNB faculty using PowerPoint and online educational software.

Case studies

Case studies are typically used to apply several problem-solving concepts and skills to a detailed situation with lots of supporting documentation and data. A case study is usually more complex and detailed than a scenario. It often involves a real-life, well documented situation and the students’ solutions are compared to what was done in the actual case. It generally includes dialogue, creates identification or empathy with the main characters, depending on the discipline. They are best if the situations are recent, relevant to students, have a problem or dilemma to solve, and involve principles that apply broadly.

Role plays can be short like scenarios or longer and more complex, like case studies, but without a lot of the documentation. The idea is to enable students to experience what it may be like to see a problem or issue from many different perspectives as they assume a role they may not typically take, and see others do the same.

Foundational considerations

Typically, scenarios, case studies and role plays should focus on real problems, appropriate to the discipline and course level.

They can be “well-structured” or “ill-structured”:

• Well-structured  case studies, problems and scenarios can be simple or complex or anything in-between, but they have an optimal solution and only relevant information is given, and it is usually labelled or otherwise easily identified.
• Ill-structured  case studies, problems and scenarios can also be simple or complex, although they tend to be complex. They have relevant and irrelevant information in them, and part of the student’s job is to decide what is relevant, how it is relevant, and to devise an evidence-based solution to the problem that is appropriate to the context and that can be defended by argumentation that draws upon the student’s knowledge of concepts in the discipline.

Well-structured problems would be used to demonstrate understanding and application. Higher learning levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation are better demonstrated by ill-structured problems.

Scenarios, case studies and role plays can be  authentic  or  realistic :

• Authentic  scenarios are actual events that occurred, usually with personal details altered to maintain anonymity. Since the events actually happened, we know that solutions are grounded in reality, not a fictionalized or idealized or simplified situation. This makes them “low transference” in that, since we are dealing with the real world (although in a low-stakes, training situation, often with much more time to resolve the situation than in real life, and just the one thing to work on at a time), not much after-training adjustment to the real world is necessary.
• By contrast,  realistic  scenarios are often hypothetical situations that may combine aspects of several real-world events, but are artificial in that they are fictionalized and often contain ideal or simplified elements that exist differently in the real world, and some complications are missing. This often means they are easier to solve than real-life issues, and thus are “high transference” in that some after-training adjustment is necessary to deal with the vagaries and complexities of the real world.

Scenarios, case studies and role plays can be  high  or  low fidelity :

High vs. low fidelity:  Fidelity has to do with how much a scenario, case study or role play is like its corresponding real world situation. Simplified, well-structured scenarios or problems are most appropriate for beginners. These are low-fidelity, lacking a lot of the detail that must be struggled with in actual practice. As students gain experience and deeper knowledge, the level of complexity and correspondence to real-world situations can be increased until they can solve high fidelity, ill-structured problems and scenarios.

Further details for each

Scenarios can be used in a very wide range of learning and assessment activities. Use in class exercises, seminars, as a content presentation method, exam (e.g., tell students the exam will have four case studies and they have to choose two—this encourages deep studying). Scenarios help instructors reflect on what they are trying to achieve, and modify teaching practice.

For detailed working examples of all types, see pages 7 – 25 of the  Psychology Applied Learning Scenarios (PALS) pdf .

The contents of case studies should: (Norton, 6)

• Connect with students’ prior knowledge and help build on it.
• Be presented in a real world context that could plausibly be something they would do in the discipline as a practitioner (e.g., be “authentic”).
• Provide some structure and direction but not too much, since self-directed learning is the goal. They should contain sufficient detail to make the issues clear, but with enough things left not detailed that students have to make assumptions before proceeding (or explore assumptions to determine which are the best to make). “Be ambiguous enough to force them to provide additional factors that influence their approach” (Norton, 6).
• Should have sufficient cues to encourage students to search for explanations but not so many that a lot of time is spent separating relevant and irrelevant cues. Also, too many storyline changes create unnecessary complexity that makes it unnecessarily difficult to deal with.
• Be interesting and engaging and relevant but focus on the mundane, not the bizarre or exceptional (we want to develop skills that will typically be of use in the discipline, not for exceptional circumstances only). Students will relate to case studies more if the depicted situation connects to personal experiences they’ve had.
• Help students fill in knowledge gaps.

Role plays generally have three types of participants: players, observers, and facilitator(s). They also have three phases, as indicated below:

Briefing phase:  This stage provides the warm-up, explanations, and asks participants for input on role play scenario. The role play should be somewhat flexible and customizable to the audience. Good role descriptions are sufficiently detailed to let the average person assume the role but not so detailed that there are so many things to remember that it becomes cumbersome. After role assignments, let participants chat a bit about the scenarios and their roles and ask questions. In assigning roles, consider avoiding having visible minorities playing “bad guy” roles. Ensure everyone is comfortable in their role; encourage students to play it up and even overact their role in order to make the point.

Play phase:  The facilitator makes seating arrangements (for players and observers), sets up props, arranges any tech support necessary, and does a short introduction. Players play roles, and the facilitator keeps things running smoothly by interjecting directions, descriptions, comments, and encouraging the participation of all roles until players keep things moving without intervention, then withdraws. The facilitator provides a conclusion if one does not arise naturally from the interaction.

Debriefing phase:  Role players talk about their experience to the class, facilitated by the instructor or appointee who draws out the main points. All players should describe how they felt and receive feedback from students and the instructor. If the role play involved heated interaction, the debriefing must reconcile any harsh feelings that may otherwise persist due to the exercise.

Five Cs of role playing  (AOM, 3)

Control:  Role plays often take on a life of their own that moves them in directions other than those intended. Rehearse in your mind a few possible ways this could happen and prepare possible intervention strategies. Perhaps for the first role play you can play a minor role to give you and “in” to exert some control if needed. Once the class has done a few role plays, getting off track becomes less likely. Be sensitive to the possibility that students from different cultures may respond in unforeseen ways to role plays. Perhaps ask students from diverse backgrounds privately in advance for advice on such matters. Perhaps some of these students can assist you as co-moderators or observers.

Controversy:  Explain to students that they need to prepare for situations that may provoke them or upset them, and they need to keep their cool and think. Reiterate the learning goals and explain that using this method is worth using because it draws in students more deeply and helps them to feel, not just think, which makes the learning more memorable and more likely to be accessible later. Set up a “safety code word” that students may use at any time to stop the role play and take a break.

Command of details:  Students who are more deeply involved may have many more detailed and persistent questions which will require that you have a lot of additional detail about the situation and characters. They may also question the value of role plays as a teaching method, so be prepared with pithy explanations.

Can you help?  Students may be concerned about how their acting will affect their grade, and want assistance in determining how to play their assigned character and need time to get into their role. Tell them they will not be marked on their acting. Say there is no single correct way to play a character. Prepare for slow starts, gaps in the action, and awkward moments. If someone really doesn’t want to take a role, let them participate by other means—as a recorder, moderator, technical support, observer, props…

Considered reflection:  Reflection and discussion are the main ways of learning from role plays. Players should reflect on what they felt, perceived, and learned from the session. Review the key events of the role play and consider what people would do differently and why. Include reflections of observers. Facilitate the discussion, but don’t impose your opinions, and play a neutral, background role. Be prepared to start with some of your own feedback if discussion is slow to start.

An engineering role play adaptation

Boundary objects (e.g., storyboards) have been used in engineering and computer science design projects to facilitate collaboration between specialists from different disciplines (Diaz, 6-80). In one instance, role play was used in a collaborative design workshop as a way of making computer scientist or engineering students play project roles they are not accustomed to thinking about, such as project manager, designer, user design specialist, etc. (Diaz 6-81).

References:

Academy of Management. (Undated).  Developing a Role playing Case Study as a Teaching Tool. 

Diaz, L., Reunanen, M., & Salimi, A. (2009, August).  Role Playing and Collaborative Scenario Design Development. Paper presented at the International Conference of Engineering Design, Stanford University, California.

Norton, L. (2004).  Psychology Applied Learning Scenarios (PALS): A practical introduction to problem-based learning using vignettes for psychology lecturers .  Liverpool Hope University College. 

Shaw, C. M. (2010). Designing and Using Simulations and Role-Play Exercises in  The International Studies Encyclopedia,  eISBN: 9781444336597

Smith, A. R. & Evanstone, A. (Undated).  Writing Effective Case Studies in the Sciences: Backward Design and Global Learning Outcomes.  Institute for Biological Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

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Responsible Decision-Making Activities for the Classroom

Responsible decision-making is a crucial skill that students need to develop in order to navigate their lives successfully. In fact, responsible decision-making is a competency listed on CASEL’s social-emotional learning framework . Responsible decision-making is the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacity to consider ethical standards and safety concerns and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

By engaging students in interactive and thought-provoking activities, we can help them understand the decision-making process and make responsible choices. Let’s explore some effective activities that promote responsible decision-making in the classroom.

Would You Rather?

Introduce social and ethical dilemmas to students through a game of Would You Rather ? Present students with different scenarios and ask them to choose between two options. After making their choice, encourage students to explain their decision and the reasoning behind it. Allow students to change their decisions and provide their rationale. This will help foster critical thinking and communication. Check out how to get started with a fun and thought-provoking game of Would You Rather.

Scenario-Based Role-Playing

Engage students in role-play activities that are like real-life situations and require responsible decision-making. Create scenarios related to peer pressure, healthy lifestyle choices, or ethical dilemmas. Let students take turns playing different roles. Then encourage class discussions so students can reflect on the decisions they made, the consequences, and alternative choices. An example from Centervention includes scenario cards as well as a Weighing the Consequences challenge for students. These scenarios challenge students to consider what to do in situations where there is no easy solution.

Decision-Making Journals

Introduce decision-making journals where students document daily choices and the reasoning behind them. This reflective practice encourages self-awareness and helps students recognize patterns in their decision-making processes. Periodic discussions or sharing sessions can further enhance the learning experience.

Engage students in thought-provoking debates centered around ethical dilemmas. This activity not only sharpens critical thinking but also hones communication skills as students articulate and defend their viewpoints. Choose topics relevant to different age groups, making the debates both challenging and age-appropriate. You can also help make debates successful in your classroom by structuring them and providing guidelines .

Decision-Making Models

There are many different decision-making models that you can teach your students. These models can help students to break down the decision-making process into smaller steps. Some popular decision-making models include the pros and cons list, the decision tree, and the five-step decision-making model.

Mindfulness

Incorporate mindfulness activities into the classroom. Practices such as deep breathing and meditation can help students develop a calm and focused mindset, which is essential for making responsible decisions. Allow for moments of reflection before students make decisions.

Promoting responsible decision-making in the classroom is essential for students’ personal and academic growth. By incorporating these activities into your teaching, you can help students develop critical decision-making skills that will serve them well in their future endeavors.

Diana Benner

Diana specializes in leadership development and all things Google. She has served as an instructional technologist, instructional designer, and online learning specialist, supporting districts all over Texas and in state government. Diana earned a Masters of Education in Educational Technology from Texas State University- San Marcos. She also holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in Spanish and the other in Political Science, from Texas State.

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Role-Playing

Preparing for difficult conversations and situations.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Think back to the last time you prepared for an important meeting.

Perhaps you needed to convince a prospective client to do business with your organization. Or maybe you had to present to executive board members, and you knew that they would be peppering you with questions about your proposal.

Whatever the situation, chances are that you were nervous about the meeting; and practicing in front of a mirror may not have helped you overcome your anxiety, especially with respect to answering difficult questions.

This is where role-playing can be useful. In this article, we'll look at what it is, and we'll see how you and your team can use this technique to prepare for a variety of challenging and difficult situations.

Uses and Benefits

Role-playing takes place between two or more people, who act out roles to explore a particular scenario.

It's most useful to help you or your team prepare for unfamiliar or difficult situations. For example, you can use it to practice sales meetings, interviews, presentations , or emotionally difficult conversations, such as when you're resolving conflict .

By acting scenarios like these out, you can explore how other people are likely to respond to different approaches; and you can get a feel for approaches that are likely to work, and for those that might be counter-productive. You can also get a sense of what other people are likely to be thinking and feeling in the situation.

Also, by preparing for a situation using role-play, you build up experience and self-confidence with handling the situation in real life, and you can develop quick and instinctively correct reactions to situations. This means that you'll react effectively as situations evolve, rather than making mistakes or becoming overwhelmed by events.

You can also use role-play to spark brainstorming sessions, to improve communication between team members, and to see problems or situations from different perspectives.

How to Use Role Play

It is easy to set up and run a role-playing session. It will help to follow the five steps below.

Step 1: Identify the Situation

To start the process, gather people together, introduce the problem, and encourage an open discussion to uncover all of the relevant issues. This will help people to start thinking about the problem before the role-play begins.

If you're in a group and people are unfamiliar with each other, consider doing some icebreaker exercises beforehand.

Step 2: Add Details

Next, set up a scenario in enough detail for it to feel "real." Make sure that everyone is clear about the problem that you're trying to work through, and that they know what you want to achieve by the end of the session.

Step 3: Assign Roles

Once you've set the scene, identify the various fictional characters involved in the scenario. Some of these may be people who have to deal with the situation when it actually happens (for example, salespeople). Others will represent people who are supportive or hostile, depending on the scenario (for example, an angry client).

Once you've identified these roles, allocate them to the people involved in your exercise; they should use their imagination to put themselves inside the minds of the people that they're representing. This involves trying to understand their perspectives, goals, motivations, and feelings when they enter the situation. (You may find the Perceptual Positions technique useful here.)

Step 4: Act Out the Scenario

Each person can then assume their role, and act out the situation, trying different approaches where necessary.

It can be useful if the scenarios build up in intensity. For instance, if the aim of your role-play is to practice a sales meeting, the person playing the role of the potential client could start as an ideal client, and, through a series of scenarios, could become increasingly hostile and difficult. You could then test and practice different approaches for handling situations, so that you can give participants experience in handling them.

Step 5: Discuss What You Have Learned

When you finish the role-play, discuss what you've learned, so that you or the people involved can learn from the experience.

For example, if you're using it as part of a training exercise, you could lead a discussion on the scenarios you have explored, and ask for written summaries of observations and conclusions from everyone who was involved.

Further Tips

Some people feel threatened or nervous when asked to role-play, because it involves acting. This can make them feel silly, or that they've been put on the spot.

To make role-playing less threatening, start with a demonstration. Hand two "actors" a prepared script, give them a few minutes to prepare, and have them act out the role-play in front of the rest of the group. This approach is more likely to succeed if you choose two outgoing people, or if you're one of the actors in the demonstration.

Another technique for helping people feel more comfortable is to allow them to coach you during the demonstration. For instance, if you're playing the role of a customer service representative who's dealing with an angry customer, people could suggest what you should do to make things right.

Role-Play Example

In an effort to improve customer support, John, Customer Service Manager for Mythco Technologies, sets up a team role-playing session. Acting as the leader/trainer, John brings together a group of software developers and customer support representatives.

He divides the 12 people into two groups: Group A represents the customer support representatives; Group B represents the customer.

John tells Group A that the customer in this situation is one of Mythco's longest-standing customers. This customer accounts for nearly 15 percent of the company's overall annual revenue. In short, the company cannot afford to lose her business!

John tells Group B that the customer has recently received a software product that did not live up to expectations. While the customer has a long-standing relationship with Mythco, this time she's growing weary because Mythco has previously sold her faulty software on two separate occasions. Clearly, her relationship with Mythco is in jeopardy.

John now allows the groups to brainstorm for a few minutes.

Next – with this particular approach to role-play – each group sends forth an "actor" to take part in the role-play. The actor receives support and coaching from members of the team throughout the role-playing process. Each team is able to take time-outs and regroup quickly as needed.

John runs through the scenario several times, starting with the "customer" behaving gently and ending with the customer behaving aggressively. Each time, a best solution is found. Of course, John can always ask for additional role-playing and suggestions if he feels that the process needs to continue, or that the team has yet to uncover the very best solutions.

Once it's clear that they cannot identify any more solutions, John brings the two groups together and discusses the session. During this, they discuss the strategies and the solutions that the actors implemented, and how they could apply them to a real-life situation.

John also asks each team to write a short summary of what they learned from the exercise. He then combines the summaries and provides a copy of everything learned to all participants.

Role-playing happens when two or more people act out roles in a particular scenario. It's most useful for helping you prepare for unfamiliar or difficult situations.

You can also use it to spark brainstorming sessions, improve communication between team members, and see problems or situations from different perspectives.

To role-play:

• Identify the situation.
• Add details.
• Assign roles.
• Act out the scenario.
• Discuss what you have learned.

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UCAT Advice MMI

6 common mmi scenarios and how to ace them, share this article.

Sitting the UCAT isn’t the end of your UCAT preparation. To gain admittance to most medical degrees, you’ll also need to attend a multiple mini interview and respond to some challenging questions and scenarios. In this article, we’re going to look at 6 common MMI scenarios and the sorts of challenging questions that may arise.

In this article, we’ll look at:

What’s an mmi.

• Ethical scenarios
• Critical thinking scenarios
• Calculation or data scenarios
• Teamwork scenarios
• Role-playing communication scenarios
• Policy Scenarios

The MMI is the interview format used by many universities as the final selection process for medical school admittance. The MMI is used for undergraduate and graduate programs. Both universities that do require or don’t require UCAT employ MMIs. An MMI is comprised of a series of interview stations (sometimes called panels). Each station will present you with a particular type of scenario or question.

You can find out more about the MMI, here .

In brief, the MMI has a series of stations that test different skillsets that schools want in medical school. Medical interviewers know that you’re not a medical expert (yet!), so you don’t need to know the specifics of medical procedures, treatments, or policies. however, they do want to have candidates who are aware of current affairs and popular debates.

Let’s look at some scenarios and what would qualify as an excellent or average response. For each type of station, we’ve provided you with two scenarios/questions so you can understand the sort of variety you may face. This will give you an indication of the sort of preparation you need.

1. MMI Interview Station: Ethical scenarios

The station for these MMI scenarios can either be a panel or a role-playing situation. In these questions, you are asked to contemplate an ethical situation and provide what you perceive to be the correct response or course of action.

Let’s look at a couple of scenarios and ways to approach them.

Scenario 1 – Cheating

You are sitting your final medical exam at university. Your cohort is fairly small – around 50 students – and while you aren’t friends with everybody, you are familiar with all the other students in the final year. In the examination room, before the exam commences and the papers are distributed, you are seated next to somebody unfamiliar who appears to be older than the rest of you. They are acting nervously and whenever you look at them, they turn their face away from you. You begin to suspect that they may be sitting the exam for somebody else. How do you handle the situation?

Average candidate responses,

• I would inform the invigilator and Dean about the student cheating.
• I would confront the “false” student before the exam and explain that they should not be facilitating academic dishonesty.

Excellent candidate responses,

• This situation raises a complicated situation that requires a calculated and ethical response. Academic dishonesty is never ethical and is a potential danger to future colleagues and patients.
• Accusing the student in public or drawing attention to this during the exam would be inappropriate and cause the other student undue stress, especially if I’m incorrect and they’re innocent.
• If there is time before the exam commences, I might introduce myself and ask who their lecturers were. If it became obvious they were engaged in academic fraud, I would then potentially raise it directly with the invigilator and definitely with the faculty dean’s office as soon as the exam was finished.

Scenario 2 – Unethical behaviour

You are a final year student on rotation in a suburban emergency department. You are shadowing a senior emergency doctor. A female patient in her 30s is admitted from triage complaining of sudden onset lower abdominal pain. After reading the patient notes, but prior to seeing the patient, the doctor describes her to you as “a frequent flyer” and implies that she’s drug-seeking. Upon visiting the patient, you note that the woman appears to be in significant pain. You become uncomfortable with the doctor’s cold and callous indifference to her. How do you respond to the situation?

Average candidate responses

• It appears the doctor is being judgemental and assessing the patient on past behaviour and not their symptoms.
• The doctor is being unethical and I would report them.

Excellent candidate responses

There are two sides to consider.

On the one hand:

• Stereotyping and pre-judging patients prior to seeing them could lead to slippery slope behaviour where patients suffering from symptoms similar to lifestyle-related health complaints such as liver, lung or weight issues are pigeon-holed inappropriately. There may be other underlying health complications that need addressing.
• Categorising patients as “frequent flyers,” “drug seekers,” or “hypochondriacs” is a dangerous behaviour that may lead to ignoring prominent signals and missing a serious diagnosis.
• Behaviour such as this might signal issues with the doctor’s professionalism and their authority to train future medical professionals.

On the other hand,

• The doctor may have had a past encounter or encounters with this patient.
• The doctor may be frustrated and concerned about the unnecessary load the patient may be placing on the department, hospital, and health system overall.

Consequently, I would ask the doctor why they have made this judgement and what the medical reasoning was behind their actions. Then I would be in a better position to consider my course of action prior to acting.

2. MMI Interview Station: Critical thinking scenarios

These scenarios present you with situations where you need to think critically about a problem. These might involve comprehension and the parsing of information. You may be presented with challenging, esoteric, or quirky questions that don’t have a clear answer. Often, how you propose to solve these is more important than a correct or specific answer.

Scenario 1 – Critically engaging with information

On social media, a close family member shares a documentary on the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic. The documentary asserts that any vaccination program for COVID-19 is dangerous and individuals should refuse the vaccine when the government begins its mass-vaccination program. The documentary includes the following assertion:

Vaccinations are inherently harmful. Vaccines are made of egg protein, polysorbate 80, and dihydrogen monoxide. Giving children vaccines can lead to them developing autism and other illnesses. It has been clinically demonstrated that the dihydrogen monoxide in vaccines reacts inside the body causing congenital defects in growing bodies. Vaccines are only legal because of the immense wealth and influence of the pharmaceutical lobby. Knowing the harm you are doing to your child vaccinating them will you still do it? I wouldn’t!

Evaluate this statement. What would you say to your family member? In your response, critique the validity of the arguments and their logical construction. Your response should include consideration of the scientific, logical, and rhetorical structure of the argument.

• You’re wrong. Vaccines are safe.
• The statement makes broad statements that aren’t scientifically correct.
• Anti-vaccine hysteria endangers the lives of more vulnerable members in society.
• The connection between autism and vaccines has been widely discredited and its early advocates have been deregistered.
• Egg protein is widely used in several medications and is commonly consumed without complication.
• Dihydrogen monoxide (H 2 O) is an unfamiliar term for water. As the documentary asserts that dihydrogen monoxide causes congenital defects, it shows that it contains factual errors.
• The final statement “Knowing the harm you are doing to your child vaccinating them will you still do it? I wouldn’t!” employs dramatic pathos and provocative rhetorical questioning to instil fear and concern in the viewer.

Scenario 2 – Thinking outside the box

You sit at the station and the interviewer asks you:

How would you count all the flags in Australia?

Describe your method.

Average candidate response

• I would count all the flags in Australia.
• I would survey the whole country and find out who has flags.
• I would use a service such as Google Earth to count the number of flags.

Excellent Response

This question seeks to see how you would approach an unusual question and problem solve. There are no correct responses to this question, are but there are more accurate or innovative solutions that would impress the panel:

• I would survey a suburb and see how many flags were flown by residents, businesses, and council/government agencies. I would divide this number by the population of the suburb and use this to calculate a ratio of flags to people and extrapolate this for the rest of the country.
• I would use a phone survey across the country and ask if owners or occupiers of residential buildings had flags flying. I would audit a sample of businesses with the same question. I would use the percentage of this to extrapolate for the total population of Australia.
• I would do an internet search to estimate how many flag suppliers are in Australia, and perhaps contact one or two pretending I was going to place a large order to try and estimate their stock levels. The question didn’t specify that the flags have to be flying.

3. MMI Interview Station: Data and calculation scenario

The questions at this station are designed to test your ability to quickly complete maths and data assessments. You might be given dosage scenarios, datasets to analyse, or graphs and charts to read.

Scenario 1 – Calculating dosages

At this station, you are presented with a card containing calculation questions:

Question 1: 

You are asked by a specialist to assist a nurse giving a patient weighing 75 kg a 0.75 mg/kg IV injection of Mirclcur. The nurse has prepared a syringe containing 100 mg of the drug in 2 mL of saline. What volume of the solution in the syringe needs to be administered?

Question 2:

You are asked to give a patient 3 mL of the new flu treatment, Hard-n-Up, which is a 2% solution of the drug. How many milligrams of the drug are you administering?

Worked solutions to the questions

Let’s look at the correct solutions to these problems.

Solution 1 :

The patient weighs 75 \text{ kg} and you need to administer 0.75 \text{ mg/kg} . Therefore, you must give 56.25 \text{ mg} .

The syringe contains 100 \text{ mg} in 2 \text{ mL} .

Use an equation where the volume of solution is denoted by x :

Rearrange the equation to find x :

Response : The nurse and I need to administer 1.125 \text{ mL} of the syringe volume.

Solution 2:

2\% means that there are 2 \text{ g} in every 100 \text{ mL} of solution. Therefore there are 2000 \text{ mg} in 100 \text{ mL} Therefore there are 20 \text{ mg} in each 1 \text{ mL}

Therefore there are 3 \times 20 = 60 \text{ mg} in 3 \text{ mL}

Response : I will have administered 60 \text{ mg} of the drug to the sick patient.

Common mistakes from candidates include:

• Confusing units
• Not being consistent with cross-unit calculations
• Not double-checking calculations to ensure you aren’t out by a factor 10.

Scenario 2 – Reading charts

You are given the following graph:

Review this graph and explain your findings.

Average responses from candidates,

• Will try and pass off as knowing what the bacteria is, even if they don’t. You wouldn’t be required to know what Treponema pallidum is.
• Make assertions that go beyond the scope of the data in the graph without attempting to substantiate it from the data.
• Try to see trends where there are no trends supported by the data.
• Try to infer causal relationships between variables, where the data only indicates correlation (if at all).

Excellent responses from candidates,

• Use the data to extrapolate a series of statements about the effectiveness of the various antibiotics.
• Develop an argument about the change in resistance of Treponema pallidum to the various antibiotics shown, based upon the trends illustrated in the graph.
• Focus only on the data provided.
• Ground any hypotheses about why the resistance might be increasing with data from graph.
• Acknowledge uncertainty and assumptions being made, and further information required.

An excellent response might be,

This is a graph comparing the efficacy of antibiotics in treating Treponema pallidum. On the x-axis is time, illustrating fluctuations in the effectiveness of the various antibiotics. The y-axis shows the percentage of antibiotic resistance acquired by Treponema pallidum.

The graph shows that over time some antibiotics have become less effective in treating Treponema palladum. The graph shows that antibiotic resistance to penicillin has become most significant, increasing 15% over a 10 year period. Resistance to Macrolides have seen around a 5% increase, mostly after 2015. Cefixime has consistently had the lowest incidence of antibiotic resistance, only fluctuating by around 1%. The efficacy of the antibiotics fluoroquinolone and tetracyclines have fluctuated somewhat over time but have remained relatively similar in the long run. Quinolones have become slightly less effective by about 1-2%, though the graph may only be showing fluctuations.

The graph does not provide enough information to show a cause for this resistance. However, because penicillin resistance has increased by over 15% over the 10 year period, we might deduce that it is the most commonly used, leading to overuse or improper use of this common antibiotic, which in turn leads to increased resistance. Macrolides resistance has increased by about 5% since 2015, which may also correspond to increased use since that time. The other antibiotics only have variations under 3-4%, suggesting that these antibiotics are less widespread, either due to cost or availability or how regularly they are prescribed in relation to this bacterium. It would be interesting to compare this graph to the number of prescriptions of these antibiotics over time in relation to this bacterium and also to consider the situation under which they are prescribed (e.g. first course of action by GP vs last course of action restricted to hospital treatment). 

4. MMI Interview Station: Teamwork

These scenarios test your ability to function as part of a team. The medical profession only functions effectively when it is a collegial, professional, and supportive environment. Common MMI scenarios assessing teamwork can ask you to work with others or reflect on past teamwork experiences.

Scenario 1 – Giving instructions

You arrive at a station and on the table are the following:

• A children’s skateboard
• A sheet of wrapping paper

You are instructed by the panellist to tell them how to wrap the skateboard. They will only do exactly as you instruct. How do you proceed?

The differences between average and excellent responses

This sort of scenario is assessing your ability to:

• Critical think.
• Plan ahead.
• Give clear instructions.

Medicine is a field where processes and planning are essential for patient and workplace safety.

This task requires you to visualize the object and then think about the problems you would face wrapping the object. You then need to consider the problems you may encounter explaining the process to somebody sitting in front of you.

Excellent responders will:

• The orientation and placement of the board on the wrapping paper.
• The turns required, from the panellist’s perspective, to appropriately cover the object.
• How to explain the operation of scissors safely and effectively.
• How to tie a ribbon.
• For example, “Wrapping the skateboard wheels down on the paper is likely to cause a tear in the paper and make the process unstable. This may be avoided by beginning with the flat side down.”
• Explain the task systematically before instructing the panellist to undertake the task.
• Remain calm, polite, and clear as the process is completed. It is essential you don’t lose your cool, even if the panellist makes an error (unintentional or intentional)
• Don’t be upset if the wrapping looks terrible or is ripped. How you cope with stress and failure is integral to the test.

Scenario 2 – Succeeding and failing together

You arrive at the station and are asked,

Describe an example of when you worked in a team and you failed.

• Don’t explain the scenario, the team, or the goal clearly and effectively
• Are too self-deprecating. You must be reflective and not self-flagellating
• Place blame and single out others. While you need to be able to identify failings in what the team did, you must be clear about the failure of the team as a collective.
• What was the team?
• What task was being attempted?
• How was failure and success defined in this case?
• Explain how the team failed. Identify what lead to the team’s failure.
• Explain exactly what your role was in the team. Reflect on what you did well and be honest about your contribution to the failure of the endeavour.
• Describe what processes and behaviours you would change and outline what suggestions you would make were you to face the same task again.
• Try and analogise the lessons from this task for a challenge you feel you might face in a medical career.

5. MMI Interview Station – Role-Playing Communication Scenarios

Role-playing communication stations are common MMI scenarios for a variety of topics and situations. However, while the situations and topics may vary, the focus is on how you communicate and engage with others. Key to these scenarios is your control of body language and use of empathy and EQ (emotional intelligence).

Scenario 1 – Breaking Bad News

You enter the interview space and are handed a card by an actor and their colleague that presents you with the following scenario:

You and a friend are staying at her parents’ house while they are on holiday. Your friend is working overnight on rotation the night before the parents return. Your friend asks you to move their parent’s Mercedes, which had been parked in the driveway, back into the garage before they arrive home. While parking the vehicle in the garage you scrape the side of it along the garage entrance. You’ve been thinking about how to discuss the incident with the parents. The parents return home from their holiday and enter the house. Discuss the damage to their vehicle.

The actors will play the role of the parents. How do you proceed?

• Begin by jumping directly into the question.
• Are too curt, distant, or impolite. You’re being assessed on how you communicate and engage with others.
• Avoid responsibility. Don’t blame it on an unfamiliar car, your friend palming the task on to you, or a mechanical fault like a sensitive accelerator. You need to demonstrate your ability to take ownership of mistakes.
• Don’t blame it on stupidity or carelessness. You were driving the car, it is your fault.
• Fail to show empathy or understate matters with euphemisms – “a small scratch” or “a bit of ding.”
• Become defensive if one or both parents become upset or angry.
• Will carefully explain and reframe the situation.
• Explain with clarity exactly what has happened, even though the parents may be angry, they will appreciate your honesty and forthrightness.
• Take care to make it clear that you are contrite but don’t go out of your way to offer solutions. Instead, ask them what solution they would appreciate and work forward from there.
• Be assertive and attentive
• Make eye contact
• Don’t be laid back
• Don’t shout or raise your voice if they raise theirs

Scenario 2 – Dealing with conflict

You enter the interview space and are presented a card by a female actor with the following scenario on it:

You are a 3rd-year medical student shadowing a senior oncologist. You have an elderly patient that has stage 4 cancer and a terminal diagnosis. Without treatment, they will most likely die within weeks, perhaps days. The patient has declined further treatment and asked for palliative care. During a consultation with the family discussing the palliative process, your consultant is called to an emergency. You are left alone with the patient’s daughter. She immediately starts pressuring you to continue her father’s treatment because she disagrees with her father’s decision to discontinue care and doesn’t feel that the consultant agreeing with the patient’s demand is the correct approach.

How do you respond?

During the role-playing scene, the woman becomes increasingly upset and angry.

• Jump straight into the scenario with solutions for the issue.
• Fail to explore further details of what the patient’s daughter would like to occur.
• Make statements or promises that extend beyond your role and position in the hospital.
• Will focus on the fact that the issue at hand is not the father’s illness, the treatment, or diagnosis, but the daughter’s feelings.
• Be aware that the woman is coping with grief. It is important that you manage this empathetically but professionally.
• Will enquire, empathetically, about why the woman feels that way. Finding out more information from the actor will help you produce more effective interpersonal responses.
• Ask questions of the woman to understand what outcome she wishes for and why.
• Reframe the question for themselves so that they can better understand the situation and courses of action.
• Explain professionally why, as a student, they are not able to make decisions regarding patient care.
• Explain that healthcare decisions for patients are patient-centred. To continue treatment would be unethical as it goes against the wishes of the patient – a core value for the Australian healthcare system.
• Agree to try and convince the specialist to keep the patient in against his wishes. The patient or daughter’s position may change in a few days, but the patient will face increasing pain and discomfort due to treatment. This could lead to family disputes between father and daughter at a time where he desires palliative care and a peaceful end of life scenario. This is moving beyond your role in the hospital.
• Explain that the father’s decision is final and that it would be unethical to keep the father in longer. This honour’s the patient’s care and wishes but will not appease the daughter.
• Explain that you are a medical student and that this is beyond your remit as an intern. This extricates you from the problem but doesn’t resolve the issue.
• In light of your limited authority, offer to discuss the situation and suggest facilitating a meeting between her, the specialist, and her father. Additionally, offer to involve a social worker or palliative care specialist to provide information about palliation and hospice care.
• Assertively and compassionately argue for the most preferable response (for example, number 4 would be the most ethical).
• Be conscious that your primary duty lies to the patient and their wishes, not the daughter regardless of how much she argues.
• Remain calm and empathetic at all times.

6. MMI Interview Station – Policy Scenarios

These common MMI scenarios are often based around “hot” or current topics in public health. It is worth your while doing some research around these policy issues and formulating some nuanced and detailed responses ahead of time.

Some areas you may consider looking into are:

• Healthcare funding and privatisation
• Access costs
• System strain
• The challenges of providing healthcare for an ageing population
• Antibiotic overuse
• Public funding of dental care
• Scheduling of medications
• Vaccination policies

While you are not expected to be an expert, you are expected to be aware of the issues and able to form a succinct, reasoned, and logically structured response.

Generally, you will have a couple of minutes (2-3) to prepare before entering the station.

Scenario 1 – Limiting Access

Before entering the station, your are presented with a card containing the following information:

As emergency departments experience a significant increase in patients attending in winter, the NSW State Government outlines a plan for deterrent fees for visiting Emergency Departments. The proposed fee is not significant – only $10 – and would only be payable on the first contact for that particular visit. This initiative is driven by the idea that the fee will deter people from visiting Emergency Departments and overrunning them for simple complaints like common colds, the flu, and mild stomach upsets.

Discuss the implications of this policy for public health, health care costs, and the ideals underpinning NSW Health, Australian health policy, and Medicare more broadly.

• Jump right in and answer the question without reframing it and inquiring after more information.
• Make simple statements in favour of or against the statement.
• Do not weigh the different sides of the debate.
• Do not consider the different policy issues involved in the question – the short term financial savings and burden on the system contrasted against the long term ramifications of more significant care for patients who defer visiting a doctor.
• Providing the upfront fee will limit patients with light or non-life-threatening ailments to visit their local GP.
• The barrier of an upfront fee will lead to patients who can’t afford it (pensioners, the unemployed, the chronically ill) deferring care when they should obtain it.
• Provide a comprehensive discussion of the issue from both positions.
• Allowing for funds to be reallocated to other parts of the health care system.
• Creates space in the system to offer better patient care.
• Pushes the healthcare system to function more efficiently by redistributing the burden of care more evenly across General Practices.
• This policy would garner support amongst those that feel healthcare is a private burden and issue, not a public one.
• The fee raises a barrier of entry to the healthcare system.
• Many GPs either do not bulk bill or require a co-payment, limiting access.
• While this policy will limit the number of presentations at emergency, patients from lower socio-economic or financially precarious backgrounds – such as pensioners, people with chronic health conditions, and those with mental health issues – will defer attending for care.
• Patients deferring care may lead to cost savings in the short or even medium-term, but in the long term patients who have deferred initially will present with more significant issues that require greater and more complex care. It is a well-studied fact that preventative care and intervention produces more significant cost savings in the long-term as well as better healthcare outcomes.
• The short term reduction in presentations might limit the strain on emergency departments, but in the long term will see an increase of patients requiring care in other departments of the hospital requiring more resources and funding.
• This policy would also garner much opposition from those who believe that healthcare is a public issue that can provide social and economic benefits to society if universal access is maintained.
• Understand and discuss that this is a complicated and, often fraught, area of policy decision making. A well-considered response will reframe the question, outline the different sides to the debate and provide a solution backed by reasoning considering the values of the public health system.
• Be sure to answer the question as a whole – apart from the cost and work load, the ideals underpinning Australian health care policy and Medicare must be addressed.

Scenario 2 – The state of healthcare

Outside of the interview space, you are presented with the following statement:

In your opinion, what is the largest challenge that the Australian Medicare System/United Kingdom’s NHS  faces today? You must discuss this issue for 6 minutes.

You are given 2-minutes to prepare before entering the interview space.

The challenges involved in this type of question

Unlike other policy questions, such as scenario 1, this is a very broad question. This question invites you to focus on a single issue and explore it in detail. This is the sort of question you can prepare for.

Doing some research around current healthcare topics worldwide and within Australia/the United Kingdom will provide you with information to prepare or pre-plan responses to this type of question.

However, just having a lot of general knowledge about the issues is not enough to produce a good response.

Candidates will also need to demonstrate an ability to weigh both sides of an issue and develop a logical and clear response about their chosen topic.

Candidates will also need to be confident public speakers able speak off the cuff. While the sample question is broad, the potential question could focus on particular healthcare system issues, the Australian NDIS or the UK patient pathway and districting regulations for GP access.

• Offer a simple response that illustrates little awareness of public health issues.
• The complications involved in State vs Federal healthcare policy and funding in Australia.
• Any potential political difficulty in discussing public healthcare costs where Medicare/NHS and healthcare access are involved.
• The strong and varied different public opinions towards public health and Medicare/NHS for all.
• Pretend to be a complete expert and that you have all the correct information
• Present a convoluted, contradictory, or inchoate response.
• Will focus on a single concern or issue.
• Present an argument that considers all sides of an issue – positive and negative.
• Patient outcomes
• Healthcare coverage
• System ramifications
• Economic issues
• Wider public health outcomes
• Political concerns that may be involved in your topic (e.g., vaccines, antibiotics access, women’s reproductive health access).
• Be willing to explain your ignorance and lack of knowledge of some areas that might be up for discussion. You are not expected to be a public health expert.
• Include counterpoints to your arguments. Don’t be afraid to play devil’s advocate.
• Offer a well structured, researched, and signposted response that considers the pros and cons for each point of discussion.

Short, sample response

Let’s look at what responses may include.

For our topic, we will consider the ageing population (a topic pertinent to the Australian, New Zealand, and UK healthcare systems) and its ramifications for healthcare. Arguably, an ageing population requiring access to a public health system includes the following concerns:

• Cost of providing care – staffing, medication, hospital services.
• Provision of aged care specific treatment and facilities.
• Increased lifespan and improved care can mean more people requiring more care for longer.
• Balancing preventative, palliative, and reactionary care with health budgets and system resources.
• Staffing shortages and systemic care issues in health care systems.
• Tele-health and online healthcare offer opportunities for improved care (but there are barriers to access).
• Care for the elderly, if not managed correctly, can be significantly more expensive than care for those in society who are younger.

When presenting and structuring a response, be aware of potential counterpoints.

Consider employing a rhetorical structure like:

• Introduction : Present the problem
• Expand : Explain some of the issues involved in the issue
• Focus : Pick one of the issues and expand on it
• Solution : Outline a potential solution and how it might work
• Counterpoint : Explain or list the complications arising from or inhibiting the solution. Offer a resolution if and where applicable.
• Summarise : Summarise your argument
• Conclude : Finish by presenting your position on the topic.

A sample response, then, might look like:

To my mind, the most significant concern facing healthcare today is the increasing ageing population. An ageing population poses a number of important issues to our healthcare system. An ageing population requires greater healthcare resources – and specialist resources at that – leading to an increase in costs. Ageing populations can increase the strain across the breadth of a healthcare system. As patients age, they increasingly face more chronic non-communicable diseases related to greater longevity and lifestyle choices. Consequently, we face a decision to restructure national healthcare away from a treatment model to a preventative care model.

As our population ages and the elderly become a greater percentage of those in the system, conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer become more prevalent. An increase in patients presenting into the health system is going to increase the end to end burden on public health. More elderly patients will present to emergency and need varying degrees of care throughout the system from specialist treatments such as those provided by orthopaedic specialists and oncologists through to rehabilitation specialists and hospice care. This rising burden on the system presents a substantial increase in future funding for healthcare. As a consequence, the government will need to find a means to increase the budget for the public health system, especially for rural and regional healthcare districts.

There are some ways in which we can proactively engage with this issue to spread costs. A long term policy might be to introduce a system akin to superannuation where individuals pay into a care fund throughout their working lives. Contributions to this fund would be compulsory but limited to a small amount and perhaps proportionally matched by the government. This would face some challenges from some quarters by those opposed to forcing contributions from individuals as government overreach and essentially as increased taxation. Similarly, there will be those who argue that healthcare provision is purely the responsibility of government and it is inequitable to transfer this to the public. Having said that, while it might be difficult to pass in the short-term, and it won’t reduce the short-term costs of providing public health care, it provides an equitable and sustainable model for high-quality public care. This will potentially allow us to continue sustaining the NHS/Medicare indefinitely.

Another avenue for accommodating an ageing population is offering wide-spread telehealth. The recent international crisis has seen advances in the technology and public pick-up of such technologies. in addition, policymakers have begun to include telehealth as a model for some care. By expanding access to telehealth and allowing patients with a wide array of issues to utilise it, we can alleviate the burden on GP practices, Emergency Departments, and hospitals. However, there will be some barriers to entry for such programs. For example, patient access to the required technology and the knowledge and practice of using it might be difficult to establish. While there are some technologically savvy elderly people in the community, there are also those who don’t utilise technology or own PCs. This inherently limits the short term success of such programs. Although, a grant scheme or the government provision of equipment might still prove more cost-effective than face-to-face consultations.

Surely, the best long term solution and, in my opinion, the most effective, would be to restructure health care in this nation to a preventative model rather than our current treatment-focused model. A preventative medicine model, by introducing preventative medicine across the system – with better education around healthy living and more resources to enable those who require treatment to seek it before their conditions worsen and become more expensive – we could head off significant public health cost increases before they hit. There would be a reluctance to move towards such a model, those opposed to public health and those who are fiscally conservative will likely be quite vocal in opposition. However, treating chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or arthritis before they become chronic reduces the costs for specialists and infrastructure, especially the bricks and motor resources like hospitals, elderly care facilities, and hospices. Such an approach would have long-term savings and potentially increase the age that workers would leave the workforce (although that is a different and equally fraught issue in and of itself).

Ultimately, the ageing population presents a pressing and complex policy issue. It is multifaceted and threatens us with increased health costs, a substantial hit on already strained national budgets. Approaches such as increased access to telehealth and a contribution system to fund future costs are plausible solutions. In addition, I strongly believe that restructuring our healthcare system to focus on preventative medicine offers the best long-term outcomes and care. Such an approach is directly in line with our national values which are focused on public health, well-being, and the public good, values I look forward to upholding and furthering in my career in medicine.

( Please note, the above response isn’t the public health or political perspective of UCAT Masterclass on public health policy. In addition, the above statement is not reflective of a total solution to what is a complex and nuanced debate. )

Final thoughts on MMI preparation

The MMI is set up with a variety of different challenges to assess different aspects of your character and skill set. If you don’t perform well on one station, that’s not the end of days. You have other stations that you can perform well on!

After looking at these common MMI scenarios, you’ve hopefully realised that the MMI requires the same sort of careful preparation and practice as your UCAT.

Make sure you set aside time for research and practice in your study timetable.

You don’t want to attend an MMI unprepared as it could undo all your hard work throughout the previous years.

Want to make sure you ace your UCAT and guarantee an MMI?

Register now for the free to put your knowledge to practice.

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