Frailty, Falls and Osteoporosis: Learning in Elderly Patients Using a Theatrical Performance in the Classroom

Objective: To ascertain the usefulness of a simulated clinical scene with actors in the classroom (theatrical performance) as a teaching tool for the management of falls and their related injuries.

Design: Experimental design of two related groups.

Setting: Spain.

Participants: A group of 12 students attended a seminar in which the approach to a clinical case was made using a simulated scene with actors in the classroom (scene group); a non-scene group of 34 students attended the seminar, without a theatrical performance (the same clinical case was read and presented in a traditional manner, oral presentation).

Measurements: Before and after the seminar, students answered a questionnaire [five questions on theoretical knowledge of falls and osteoporosis (score 0-10) and two on subjective learning perception (linear scale: 0-10) (score 0-20)]. In the scene group were two further questions included at the end on their opinion of the scene and on the seminar overall.

Results: Both groups significantly improved in all questionnaire scores after the seminar (p=0.001). The scene group had a greater rise in mean points of the questionnaire before and after the seminar than the non-scene group: theoretical knowledge [3.81±1.69 versus 2.75±1.33 (p=0.033)], subjective questions [6.08±4.10 versus 4.97±2.24 (p=0.247)], and the questionnaire overall [9.89±4.98 versus 7.72±2.66 (p=0.060)]. The scene group had a very good opinion of the usefulness of the scene and of the overall opinion of the seminar: 9.08±0.95 and 9.41±0.79.

Conclusions: Theatrical performance in the classroom seems to promote better learning than classic oral presentation, providing qualitative value by adding creativity and different approaches to the teaching of medicine.