The standardized patient encounter: a dynamic educational approach to enhance students' clinical healthcare skills

Occupational therapy educators are challenged to prepare students entering the profession to be skilled in assessment, critical thinking, self-analysis, and decision-making. Simulation is an effective strategy used in medical and nursing curriculums to develop or enhance critical thinking, self-analysis, and decision-making skills. Through simulated learning activities, such as encounters with standardized patients (SP), students develop skills in decision-making, clinical reasoning, and interpersonal communication, skills necessary to function effectively in the current health care environment. This paper describes the process for integrating SP encounters in a professional healthcare curriculum for occupational therapy graduate students. Evidence that supports the use of simulation in healthcare curriculums for health profession students is explored. An example of an SP encounter in one occupational therapy course is described to illustrate how students engage in higher-level thinking as they administer an assessment tool and interact with an SP. The process of developing and evaluating the SP encounter is described and the outcomes are presented. The authors believe the SP experience is a viable teaching method in preparing competent, reflective practitioners for tomorrow's healthcare environment.