Some like it hot: medical student views on choosing the emotional level of a simulation

The emotional level control was a useful innovation for most students and may potentially be used in any first encounter with challenging simulation. We suggest that it addresses innate needs for competence and autonomy. The insights gained enable us to suggest ways of building the element of choice into such sessions. The disadvantages of choice highlighted by some students should be surmountable by tutor 'scaffolding' of the learning for both student-interviewers and student-observers.