Role-Playing Activity Exploring the Effects of Age-Related Polypharmacy with a Focus on Interprofessional Collaboration

Abstract The use of multiple prescription drugs, termed polypharmacy, has been found to be a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality among the elderly and thus should be monitored vigilantly. This role-playing activity was created by medical students as part of a student-led, small-group, active-learning session focused on polypharmacy. Simulation role-play is grounded in a variety of educational theories, including experiential learning, reflective practice, and a constructivist view of learning. This activity stimulates group engagement with the material, reflective opportunities in the role of patient and/or provider, and shared development and discovery of the risks and complications of polypharmacy. It also explores interprofessional collaboration. The activity is broken into three rounds, and participants act as physicians, patients, or a pharmacist. In each round, patients must visit the physicians and get prescriptions, after which the pharmacist tells the patients of any side effects they may experience from their prescribed drug regimen. Each round, the rules change slightly, allowing the physicians and patients to share more information in an effort to reduce side effects through enhanced collaboration. The activity was implemented with 11 participants, which is the recommended number generally. Using this interactive role-play game, students engage with and explore the difficulties that patients, prescribers, and pharmacists encounter when keeping track of multiple medications. In addition, the exercise highlights the challenge of communication between providers in the care of patients with varying medical comorbidities and drug-drug interactions. A strength of this exercise is its applicability to a wide range of learners at various levels of training within an interprofessional educational context. The role-play mimics real-life patient experiences and health system issues.