Roundtable Discussion (RTD03) - Is there a downside to using Simulated Patients to teach and assess communication skills?

Hammond, Anna; Henderson, Janine

Abstract

Background
Simulated Patients (SPs) are widely used to facilitate the learning of communication skills enabling students to receive detailed feedback on experiential practice in a safe environment. They are also used in the assessment of students’ communication skills in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). We have observed that our most experienced SPs are highly conversant with medical jargon and consultation skills and have almost become ‘medical faculty’. Consultations can therefore lack the true patient perspective, with SPs focussing their feedback on process rather than giving a true patient perspective.

Roundtable objectives
To consider the challenges in ensuring that highly experienced SPs continue to respond from a true patient perspective
To critique whether the use of SPs in OSCE stations is a valid way to assess students’ communication skills with real patients
To consider whether using consultations with Simulated Patients is useful for students in the later years of an Undergraduate medical course who are learning to integrate the different components of a consultation and reasoning clinically in a real-life clinical context
To share best practice with colleagues

Roundtable
A brief interactive presentation including the authors’ experiences of working with experienced Simulated Patients which will draw on current literature regarding the evidence for using Simulated Patients in the teaching and assessing of communication skills
Delegates will have the opportunity to take part in three roundtable discussions
• OSCE Stations using SPs assess how good students are at communicating with SPs but not with real patients
• Experienced SPs are in danger of responding with a faculty not a patient perspective
• By using SPs in teaching we over focus on process and forget the global picture.

Citation

Hammond, A., & Henderson, J. (2019, May). Roundtable Discussion (RTD03) - Is there a downside to using Simulated Patients to teach and assess communication skills?. Presented at 8th International Clinical Skills Conference, Prato, Italy

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: 8th International Clinical Skills Conference
• Start Date: May 19, 2019
• End Date: May 22, 2019
• Deposit Date: Dec 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 29, 2024
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4491217
• Publisher URL: https://internationalclinicalskillsconference.com/uploads/2019%20PRATO%20AbstractFA_NO%20TRIMS.pdf