“High‐stakes”; testing of medical students using standardized patients

Abstract

Standardized patients (SPs) are being used for teaching and testing in a growing number of U.S. medical schools. More attention to their use in formal evaluation settings raises questions about SP characteristics for “high‐stakes”; testing. Institutions contemplating the use of SPs in tests that “count"—whether they are medical schools or test agencies—need to examine a complex of new issues related to this intended use. This article discusses what some of these issues are and proposes some benefits to be gained by the schools and the licensing bodies by addressing this complex of issues in a collaborative way. The effort to develop a common set of processes to deal with the development and administration of SP tests could lay the groundworkfor a common clinical evaluation system that would efficiently serve both education and licensure requirements while safeguarding their autonomous interests. The current Standardized Patient Project at the National Board of Medical Examiners serves as an example of this collaborative approach.