The difficult debriefing: the case of the resistant opposer

It often happens to me that some participants in the scenario are particularly difficult to manage when I do the debriefing… The “resisters”!

What do you mean?

It is a very long story… but let’s look at it together in a simple way. The most frequent resisters are what I call the “opposers.”

Who are they?

Those who disqualify anything you propose, those who always question the realism of your scenario, those who oppose technical suggestions or guidelines. Many times they do not commit because “everything is a game…”

Of course! They happen to me often! And I don’t know how to get away with it! Sometimes they are those who have somehow been forced to attend my courses, or those who, being colleagues at the same hospital, already have previous conflicts between them.

I agree! Critics at all costs also belong to this category, the “know-it-all gentlemen”, all those who, having a rigid personality, are unable to enter the spirit of simulation…

Unfortunately, these have also happened to me!

But keep in mind that one can also object because the questioner has not been able to explain the differences between clinical reality and the realism of the scenario, or has not created a safe and non-judgmental environment… In fact, one can also object out of fear to be judged and exposed to the criticism of others.

It’s true, I’ll remember. So what do you advise me to do?

Turn opposition into compliance! Doing so will negate the main function of resistance, which instead turns into change.

But how do I do it in practice?

You could thank the opponent, recommending a constructive task, without going into the substance of the discussion, telling him, for example, “What you see nobody sees, so I ask you to help me identify the shortcomings that have arisen.”

FROM:
G Capogna, PL Ingrassia, E Capogna, M Bernardini, G Nardone.
Il Debriefing dopo lo scenario di simulazione. Base e Avanzato-Strategico. Manuale per il facilitatore. 2021 Pearson Italia, Milano.
ISBN: 9788891923059