Table 2.

Voice and representation are incorporated into the phases of VS with a scenario based on a child with ADHD attending an appointment in a health professional practice

Case scenario:

Your next patient is Johnny, a 6-year-old who presents with his father Elijah. Elijah mentioned this is Johnny’s first appointment and he has ADHD The learning objectives are: • to accurately diagnose and address the presenting complaint • to develop evidence-based management decisions

In the preparation phase, a panel approach ensured realistic representation was included in the design of the virtual simulation. This panel included representatives who were learners at the university (not in this course) that identified as having ADHD through the disability resource centre. The educators were also trained to have conversations about ADHD

During the briefing phase, the educator clarified the roles of all participants in the virtual simulation. The learners were required to acknowledge with the educator that all voices within the learning activity were valued equally. The educator also shared a lived experience as a health professional working with a patient who had ADHD and invited learners to volunteer any lived experiences

The virtual simulation allowed the learner to embody Johnny, Elijah, or a practitioner where they made decisions that influenced the narrative. As the narrative changed it provided feedback to the learners about their decisions. For example, when they embodied the practitioner and spent too much time focusing on interacting with the Johnny, they would miss important information that could have been obtained from asking Elijah questions

The virtual simulation allowed the learner to embody Johnny, Elijah, or a practitioner where they made decisions that influenced the narrative. As the narrative changed it provided feedback to the learners about their decisions. For example, when they embodied the practitioner and spent too much time focusing on interacting with the Johnny, they would miss important information that could have been obtained from asking Elijah questions

The learners performed a self-evaluation using a series of questions and ranked their performance on a Likert scale. They also evaluated the VS learning activity and provided qualitative comments. This allowed learners to voice suggestions for improvement and issues of representation that may have occurred during the VS

Learners were provided with a self-reflection pro forma for gradual mindful realisation. In this process, educators also self-reflected on their experiences and revalued their identity and social worlds