Incorporating standardized patients into a psychosocial nurse practitioner program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nursing Education
• Simulation-Based Learning

Background:

• Standardized patients (SPs) are increasingly utilized in healthcare education.
• These laypersons are trained to simulate patient roles in realistic clinical scenarios.
• SPs provide immediate, customized feedback crucial for skill development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the design and implementation of standardized patient experiences for graduate nursing students.
• To highlight the multifaceted learning outcomes derived from SP interactions.
• To evaluate the perceived value and popularity of SP simulations in nursing education.

Main Methods:

• Development of faculty-designed healthcare scenarios for SP portrayal.
• Recruitment, training, and preparation of both SPs and nursing students.
• Structured learning process including encounter, SP feedback, peer discussion, faculty critique, and video review.

Main Results:

• Student learning is enhanced through direct encounter, SP performance feedback, and subsequent educational activities.
• The SP experience is versatile, adaptable to various learning objectives.
• Graduate nursing students find SP interactions to be a valuable and popular learning modality.

Conclusions:

• Standardized patient interactions represent a robust method for delivering targeted clinical learning in graduate nursing programs.
• Despite being labor-intensive, the SP approach yields significant educational benefits.
• The integration of SPs is a valuable strategy for enhancing nursing student competency and engagement.