Describing the Work of Older Adult Simulated Participants

This chapter describes the work of older adult simulated participants (SPs) reported in literature. Older adult SPs are those who are 60 years of age or older. Working with older adult SPs in healthcare students’ and providers’ education can promote authenticity and learner engagement. The chapter builds on findings from a scoping review undertaken by the authors. We summarise findings of the scoping review and include considerations of benefits and challenges of working with older adults as SPs and make brief reference to recommendations for reporting older adult SP work. We also use examples from Parts 4, 5 and 6 of this book to illustrate ways in which older adult SPs contribute to health professions’ education—the tasks, the roles, and the settings—and consider the expanded roles of older adult SPs.