GlossaryGuide

Etym. embed (v.) 1778, “to lay in a bed (of surrounding matter),” from em- (1) + bed (n.). Originally a geological term, in reference to fossils in rock; figurative sense is by 1835; meaning “place (a journalist) within a military unit at war” is from 2003 and the Iraq war. Related: Embedded; embedding.

Etym. participant (n.) 1560s, from Middle French participant, from Latin participantem, present participle of participare “to share in, partake of” from particeps “sharing, partaking.”

Definition

• An individual who is trained or scripted to play a role in a simulation encounter in order to guide the scenario, and may be known or unknown to the participants; guidance may be positive or negative, or a distractor based on the objectives, level of the participants, and the needs of the scenario.

• A role assigned in a simulation encounter to help guide the scenario. The guidance may be positive, negative, or neutral or as a distracter, depending on the objective(s), the level of the participants, and the scenario. Although the embedded participant’s role is part of the situation, the underlying purpose of the role may not be revealed to the participants in the scenario or simulation. (Meakim et al., 2013).

See also: ACTOR, CONFEDERATE, ROLE PLAYER, SIMULATED PATIENT, SIMULATED PERSON, STANDARDIZED PATIENT