Coaching Standardized Patients: For Use in the Assessment of Clinical Competence

In today’s medical education curriculum, it is necessary for students to learn the proper techniques for taking medical histories, performing physical exams, and the appropriate way to educate and inform patients. The best way for a student to learn these skills is through hands-on training with a Standardized Patient (SP) - an actor who has been hired to portray a specific set of health problems and symptoms. This type of training allows students to grasp concepts more quickly and enables faculty physicians to directly observe student’s progress and asses their need for further instruction. Working with SP’s has become so important in medical education that it is now a component of the USMLE clinical skills assessment exam. As with any tool that is used for teaching, assessment, and certification, it is easier to provide the best service when there are general guidelines for preparers to follow. The coaches who prepare SP’s are no exception and there needs to be a guide for those who train SP’s for their roles in new doctor education. This handbook is intended as that guide and as a support for those who are involved in training Standardized Patients, from the art of coaching through preparing SP’s for the physical exam, to encourage each coach to develop a system that will deliver the best results and, in the end, help train the most competent doctors.