Benefits of enrolling in a standardized patient program

If you are an aspiring doctor, you’d spend at least 8 years in a medical school. During your medical training, you will learn about biochemistry, pathology, and anatomy. There is no denying the fact that you will be spending innumerable hours with their noses buried inside their textbooks, learning proper procedures, terminology, and ethical practices. Even though you probably learn everything there is to learn in a medical school, you scarcely get real-life experience.

Therefore, interacting with patients and deal with real-life scenarios become intimidating for students who want to become a doctor. This is why a standardized patient program exists.

A standardized patient program is designed to help aspiring candidates work with standardized patients who are trained to act as real patients. Since the 1960s, standardized patients have been used as a way to render an objective clinical measure to determine the performance of students.

Here are some benefits of enrolling in a standardized patient program.

Experiential learning
When you enroll in such a program, you work with a standardized patient who is carefully hired and trained to imitate as a real patient thereby offering the candidates a chance to learn and be determined on their skills in a simulated clinical environment.

A standardized patient is trained to
Present a case history when a student asks the questions
Go through non-invasive physical examination as per the directions given by the student
Help students improve their clinical and communication skills
Help students work in a difficult emotional situation in a safe environment

Hands-on training
The biggest challenge aspiring candidates face is learning how to interact with patients. Enrolling in a standardized patient program allows you to gain hands-on training by implementing your knowledge and clinical skills on standardized patients. These patients are trained to present an environment where students can learn and practice new techniques and methods without having to risk safety, modesty, or comfort.

Adaptability
Standardized patients can portray different characteristics to meet the needs of the students, thus transforming from simple to more complex problems.

Enrolling in a standardized patient program allows you to learn and gain real-life experience. Since SPs are trained to provide genuine and right feedback, you can improve your clinical skills significantly. The feedback given is instant and from the patient’s perspective.