Graduate students' experiences with standardized patients as adjuncts for teaching pelvic examinations

To explore graduate nurse practitioner students' perceptions of their experiences when learning to perform pelvic examinations in the laboratory and performing them in subsequent clinical rotations. One group was taught by faculty with voluntary peer examination, and the other two groups were taught by standardized patients (SPs).

Surveys with open- and closed-ended (responses on Likert scales) items administered twice during 3 consecutive years to students enrolled in an advanced health assessment course.

All groups reported feeling anxious while learning pelvic exam techniques and in subsequent clinical experiences. SPs provided immediate feedback to students, decreased their feelings of anxiety, and increased their confidence in performing examinations. Students who were taught pelvic examination techniques by SPs rated their learning experiences more positively and reported a better understanding of exam techniques than students who learned to perform exams by voluntary examination of classmates.

Graduate nursing programs should consider locating and using SP programs for teaching pelvic examinations in advanced health assessment courses. Although more cost-effective, voluntary peer examination was a less effective teaching method.