Standardized patients

What is a standardized patient?

Standardized Patients (SPs) are lay-people who come from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., actors, educators, retirees, etc.), and are usually interested in education or learning more about healthcare. SPs are trained to portray patient scenarios for the instruction and assessment of clinical skills of medical students, residents, allied health, and other diverse professionals.

• Standardized patients assist in both learning and assessment, and may be trained to provide constructive feedback to learners.
• SPs receive training to maintain a consistent, highly realistic portrayal, thus offering a standardized, controlled experience for learners. Unlike role play, SP sessions are measurable and reproducible.
• SP methodology is acknowledged by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) as a valid, reliable tool for training and evaluation in the undergraduate and graduate medical education settings.
• The use of SPs facilitates practice in clinical / critical thinking, patient safety, crisis management, team interaction, decision making and communication skills in addition to acquisition of competence in clinical techniques and procedures.
• Independent studies have validated that SPs provide a high level of skill acquisition and retention equivalent to that achieved with the use of physician faculty for basic skills.

If you are interested in being a Standardized Patient:

• First, read / download our Brochure (pdf) to find out what is expected of SPs
• If interested in becoming a Standardized Patient, please complete the Standardized Patient Information form.