Patient simulators in teaching patient education skills to family practice residents

The University of Texas Medical Branch Family Medicine Residency includes in its curriculum the use of interviews with simulated patients for the teaching of patient education skills. Success with simulated cases requires careful programming of the stimulator, realistic situations, and objective evaluation and feedback for the residents. This paper describes the "patient education guidelines" which we used in programming a simulated patient, as well as specific objectives for the content of the residents' interviews and a rating form for evaluating the educational process used by the residents. The interviews with a simulated patient were video taped for review by faculty and residents, using the content objectives and the rating form as aids in the feedback session.