When a Marker and a Bed Roll Are Enough: Simple Simulation in General Practice

One of the most energising things about Visually Enhanced Mental Simulation (VEMS) is seeing how people take the underlying idea and make it their own.

Recently, our colleague Gerry Gormley shared a wonderful example of this on LinkedIn: a spontaneous, low-tech simulation session run in a general practice setting with medical students. No mannequins. No sim lab. Just the paper bed roll that already covers the examination table — and a marker.

Gerry described it like this:

“We ran some impromptu simulation-based learning with medical students in general practice. Low-tech (just a bed roll and a marker!) but rich in pedagogy, we explored clinical decision-making, navigating uncertainty and system change. Lots of good, inexpensive learning to add to the many other rich learning opportunities that general practice has to offer.”

That short post captures something powerful: simulation doesn’t have to be elaborate to be effective. What mattered here wasn’t the equipment, but the thinking.

By sketching out a patient and working through scenarios together, the group created a shared mental model. They were able to pause, discuss decisions, surface uncertainty, and explore how systems and constraints shape care in general practice. In other words, they used simulation for exactly what it does best — sense-making, anticipation, and learning together.

When we reached out to Gerry, he generously shared a bit more:

“It was a totally spontaneous moment and the idea popped into my head (naturally had Eve and Vic in my subconscious!). It was a really rich learning moment and the students raved about it.”

You don’t need permission, funding, or a simulation centre to get started. You can begin with whatever is at hand and a willingness to slow down clinical reasoning and make it visible. That’s as true in a GP practice as it is in an emergency department or on a ward.

Of course, many educators tell us that once they start doing this kind of work, they want something that’s a little more durable, reusable, and visually consistent — especially if they’re running sessions regularly or across multiple learners. That’s exactly why we created SimSimple kits: not to replace creativity like Gerry’s, but to support it.

If drawing patients on a bed roll sparks rich learning, imagine what happens when teams have:

• ready-to-go visual patients

• reusable equipment prompts

• and a format that invites everyone to lean in and participate

Whether you start with a marker and paper or a SimSimple kit, the principle is the same: simple tools, for serious teams.

Huge thanks to Gerry for sharing this work and for reminding all of us that some of the most meaningful simulation happens when we’re willing to challenge orthodoxy and try something different — right where we are.

If you’re interested in doing something similar and want a simple, portable way to bring VEMS into your teaching, you can explore our SimSimple kits on our website. But most of all, we hope this story encourages you to look around your own space and ask: what could we simulate, right now?

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Simulation doesn’t need to be fancy. It needs to be thoughtful.