Simulated Participants' Experiences and Challenges With Online and Face-to-Face Interactions During COVID-19: A Case Study in UAEU.

Introduction: Direct patient contact is essential when training health professionals for future patient-centered interactions. Simulated participants (SPs) play a critical role during training; however, limited information is available about their personal perspectives. This study explored SPs at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences experiences, adaptations, and preferences regarding online and face-to-face encounters.

Methods: After ethical approval, a qualitative research study using structured in-depth interviews was conducted online with 16 SPs, applying critical incident narratives and storytelling. Interview data were transcribed and encoded using thematic framework analysis, after which member checking was conducted to increase credibility.

Results: All SPs acknowledged the benefits of online delivery models during the pandemic, including the convenience of working from home, continued clinical skills training, and personal protection from COVID infection. Participants preferred face-to-face delivery over online encounters, except for one SP, who saw no difference. Challenges included technical issues, communication problems, and lack of realism.

Conclusions: Although these results cannot be generalized, all participants acknowledged the relevance of online portrayals during the pandemic. Most preferred face-to-face delivery models for improving role-playing and enhancing personal communication to achieve better patient outcomes, while one SP had no preference. The use of concurrent online and face-to-face methods may more effectively engage SPs in simulation-based education. Before restructuring programs, further research is needed, including a deeper exploration of students' and educators' perspectives.