The Effect of Teaching by Role Playing on Students' Counseling and Screening Skills toward IUD Clients

Introduction: One of the most important barriers for using IUD (Intra Uterine Device) is inadequate provision of appropriate counseling. Since, employing new training methods is necessary for enhancing midwives` roles in providing appropriate counseling, this study was performed to compare the effect of two methods of traditional training and role playing on students’ skills in counseling. Methods: In this experimental study, 62 midwifery students were randomly allocated in role playing and traditional training groups to participate in a 4 hour workshop about counseling skills for IUD clients. Before and after the workshop students' skills in counseling were assessed. The data gathering tools included a self evaluation form and evaluation checklists for assessing students’ performance in counseling before and after IUD insertion. Comparisons were made using Chi square, Fisher exact text, t-student, Man-Whitney, paired t-test, and Wilcoxon by SPSS software. Results: The mean of students' score in counseling before and after IUD insertion was not different between the two groups in pretest, but the post-tests of the 2 groups in both skills were significantly different. There was a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores in both groups regarding the two skills. Conclusion: Teaching by role playing leads to a better learning of counseling skills. Employing this educational method is recommended for training counseling skills to students.