Скачать или смотреть Mindworks in Conversation with Brian Saville Allard | Improvisation in Medical Education

This conversation is about how theatrical skills, especially improvisation, quietly underpin effective medical education, particularly in patient simulation.

Brian Saville Allard brings decades of experience as a theatre artist into his work training standardized patients (SPs). He explains that patient simulation is not scripted performance, but responsive, relational work that requires listening, adaptability, and ethical boundaries.

At its core, the discussion reframes simulation not as acting, but as benign improvisation — the ability to respond truthfully and safely when clinical encounters go off script. Brian also explores why learning requires confusion, mistake-making, and psychological safety, and why simulation must be a place where failure is allowed before real patients are involved.

This is less about “theatre in medicine” as an idea, and more about how learning actually happens.

Improv as a Clinical Tool: Why the ability to "play pretend" is essential for authentic medical simulations.
The Unlearning Process: How actors transition from the stage to the exam room by focusing on the learner’s needs.
Safety & Failure: Creating a "safe place to fail" where both students and patients can navigate clinical confusion.
The Coach Approach: A debriefing methodology that empowers students through self-analysis and curiosity.