Fifteen simulated patient working formats to use in communication skills training: Report of a survey

Abstract

Objective

Simulated and standardized patients (SPs) are increasingly being used in communication skills training for healthcare professionals’ education. Despite this broad use of SPs, there is no recent literature with an overview on SP working formats being used. We ran a study to fill this gap.

Methods

First, a survey on formats on the use of SPs in various curricula for education of healthcare professionals in Belgium and The Netherlands was run by members of the Dutch Association of Medical Education Special Interest Group on Simulated and Standardized patients (SIG-NL/B). Then the SIG-NL/B organized a national workshop where professionals working with or interested in SPs were invited to come forward with SP working formats they used. They were also asked to provide relevant details about the use. Finally, the outcomes of these two phases were combined.

Results

Fifteen SP working formats were found. Six of them were described before. The details of all formats are listed and discussed.

Conclusion

We categorised 15 SP working formats. The choice to use a particular format is mainly based on the learning objectives of the session involved and the expertise at hand.

Keywords:

• Patient simulation
• working formats
• medical students
• simulated patients
• communications skills training

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all members of the SIG NL/B for their participation in this study. We thank Doortje Roosdorp for her contribution to the workshop, colleagues and SPs participating in the video, as well as Remco Haringhuizen for editing the video.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ivan Bank

Ivan Bank, MD, PhD, is a hematologist, clinician educator and consultant in Transfusion Medicine working at Transfusion Medicine Department, Sanquin Blood Bank, The Netherlands.

Ellemieke M. C. Rasenberg

Ellemieke M. C. Rasenberg, MD, is a general practitioner, principal lecturer at the Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc), Nijmegen, and coordinator of clinical communication skills program at the Medical School of the Radboudumc, The Netherlands.

Sara H. Makkenze-Mangold

Sara H. Makkenze-Mangold, MSc, is a senior lecturer Medical Communication and Psychology, and she coordinates simulated patients at Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Sandy Nelissen

Sandy Nelissen, MD, is a teacher clinical skills and coordinator for simulated patients at Skillslab, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Jacqueline van Wijngaarden

Jacqueline van Wijngaarden, MSc, is Head of the Department of Clinical Skills Training at University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Annelies G. Lovink

Annelies G. Lovink, MSc, is a senior lecturer Communication and Professional Behavior and SP-educator at Technical Medicine at the University of Twente.

Jan-Joost Rethans

Jan-Joost Rethans, MD, PhD, is a general practitioner by training and professor of Human Simulation at the Skillslab, Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.