Having been involved as a role player since 1992 I decided to start up my own role play business a number of years ago becoming a Limited Company – SimPatiCo UK Ltd - in October 2003, specializing in communication skills in the medical field.
In 1993, after a year working as a role player with a doctor in Primary Care at UCL, she asked if I would interview and recruit 7 people to assist in the communication skills and history taking sessions for 1st year Clinical medical students. This led to me training and booking the actors for teaching sessions. Subsequently from these beginnings I was then approached by The Department of Women's Health to provide actors for their OSCE, followed by the Department of Psychiatry and so the business began.
SimPatiCo UK Ltd now employs a team of over 900 actors, ranging in age from 17 - 85, from various ethnic groups. All of whom are very reliable, professional people, and have extensive experience in this field, having played a number of different roles and scenarios in both the private and public sector. All actors are required to complete an online Equality, Diversity and Human Rights module accessed by www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/educator-training-resources/.
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All actors are members of Spotlight which is a body for professional performers. In order to become a member of Spotlight actors need to have at least one featured role with an Equity or equivalent union contract or two professional performance credits or have completed at least a year of full-time professional performance training equivalent to a RQF level 5 or two years of part-time training and many are trained and experienced in giving feedback in a constructive manner.
I provide actors to various bodies such as UCL medical school, the Royal College of Anaesthetists, Ruskin University, Eastman Dental Institute for CPSA, OSCE exams and courses.
As well as running the agency I am the Whittington Site Lead for Y1 as a Clinical and Professional Practice Tutor at UCL Medical School and a Communication Skills Tutor, working with actors providing feedback for Year 4 medical students.
THE ROLE PLAYERS
The experience of my role players is dependent on age but the majority have 3+ years involving several sessions per year.
My role players are very experienced in medical and dental role play as all my work, with the exception of one body, is in the field of medicine and dentistry. The most recent ventures being in the delivery of a ‘Management of Falls in the Elderly’ course to a number of trusts throughout the South East. This was also presented at a ‘Falls & Frailty’ conference in March. Providing actors for new courses at UCL in Palliative Care, Social Determinants of Health and Sexual Health.
The majority of my role players are selected through personal recommendation from long standing role players. New recruits are all interviewed and required to fill in several forms and complete an online Equality & Diversity Course: there are further opportunities to see them at briefing sessions and at work.
I ensure that my role players are of consistently high quality through careful briefing, observation at work and feedback from assessors and contracting bodies and through the role players themselves.
All actors are required to hold an Equality & Diversity Certificate before being placed on file ensuring that all candidates/participants are treated fairly and equally. The actors are all members of Spotlight and many are trained and experienced in giving feedback in a constructive manner.
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CLIENT LIST
SimPatiCo UK Ltd has supplied actors for the purposes of training clinicians of various grades from medical students to FY1 to consultants and to other healthcare professionals within the National Health Service to the following bodies (past and present), in order to improve their communication and consultation skills through role play and the giving of constructive feedback.
HEE – supplying role players for various communication skills courses.
The Havens - supplying role players for simulation training for crisis workers.
Barnet GP VTS Course – supplying role players for Communication Skills Training.
Northwick Park Hospital GP VTS Course – supplying role players for Communication Skills Training.
The Royal College of Anaesthetists - supplying role players for FICM scenario writing workshop and FRCA OSCE exams.
The Royal College of Surgeons - supplying role players for Lay Examiner training, OSCE scenario writing and MRCS OSCE Exams.
Vertical Module, University College London, Communication Skills Course – supplying and training role players for the course, tutor since 2004.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – supplying role players for examiner training.
MRCP(UK) PACES Part 2 Clinical Course – supplying and training role players for the course.
MRCP(UK) PACES Part 2 Communication Skills and Ethics Course – supplying and training role players for the course.
TIPS for Teaching Communication Skills Course, Academic Centre for Medical Education, University College London – supplying role players.
MRCPsych Course, University College London – supplying role players for the course.
MRCS Revision Course, Whittington Hospital – supplying role players for the course.
Refugee Doctors Course, Royal Free & University College London – supplying role players for the course and OSCE’s.
PasTest – supplying role players for courses.
Edgware Hospital, Department of Psychiatry Interview Skills Workshops –– supplying role players for training.
Department of Primary Care & Populations Sciences, Royal Free & University College London – supplying role players for communication skills sessions and examinations.
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Mental Health Skills Workshops – supplying role players for MDT training.
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