Interested in being a standardized patient

Working with standardized patients has significantly helped medical students like Taylor Wight. Instead of reading about what it's like working in a hospital, she's able to get real-world experience while training at the College of Medicine Rockford from someone portraying a patient.

"I have gained and worked many of the soft and technical skills that are important for successfully treating patients through standardized patients encounters," Wight said.

A standardized patients is trained, coached and pretends to be a patient, family member or other person in health care education. These individuals help students learn what it takes to care for a real patient in a natural environment.

Miscilda Vital, MD, program director of the standardized patient and simulation programs at the Rockford campus, said standardized patients help students develop essential skills like learning patient history, performing examinations, communicating with empathy, delivering difficult news and building trust with patients.

"Standardized patients are carefully prepared to present the same case to every learner, allowing students to practice their clinical and communication skills in a realistic, safe and supportive environment," she said.

Simulation is an important part of a medical student's health care education, and the role of a standardized patients is essential.

"Being able to successfully collect patient information and perform correct maneuvers in a way that is patient-centered and makes them feel safe and heard is essential," Wright said.

At the Rockford campus, standardized patients participate in the teaching and evaluation of medical students.

"I love working with the students watching them become doctors," said Laurene Logsdon, who's been a standardized patient for about 12 years. "The best part is seeing the first-year medical students evolve from their first encounter, which is really special."

Standardized patients are given a script to memorize before each encounter. They must memorize the specifics of their simulated medical encounters and be able to improvise.

"We're sent a case and given a few days to familiarize ourselves," Logsdon said. "We meet as a group to go over the case before reading it on our own. On the day of the encounter, we make sure all the details are down, and we're ready to go."

Standardized patient sessions range from a couple of hours to a full day, depending on the need and activity. Encounters involve working with a handful of students, and all standardized patients are expected to maintain confidentiality about simulation content and learner performance.

Standardized patients help show the person behind the diagnosis, Vital said. After each encounter, standardized patients are also asked to provide feedback from the patient's perspective.

"This makes standardized patient programs an invaluable part of preparing compassionate, competent and patient-centered health care providers," Vital said.

Wright says standardized patients are vital for students to hone the same skills they will use in the medical field.

"Having additional standardized patients is important to continue to practice those exam and interview skills in a controlled environment," Wight said. "The more opportunities students have to stretch their patient interview and exam muscles now means stronger and more developed student doctors come time for clerkship rotations and real patients."

Learn more and apply to be a standardized patient on the Rockford campus.

- Jermaine Pigee, College of Medicine Rockford