Simulated patients in medical education – a survey on the current status in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Sommer, M.; Fritz, Angelika Hiroko; Thrien, Christian; Kursch, Angelika; Peters, Tim

doi:10.3205/zma001235

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Since their first description in 1964 ( 4 ), SPs have been established in almost all medical schools in German-speaking countries ( 5 ). However, the influence of using SPs on the acquisition of competencies compared to RPs has not been conclusively examined.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To support clinical skill learning, the concept of SPs was first presented by Barrows and Abrahamson in 1964 ( 4 ). SPs have now been established in almost all medical universities in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) ( 5 ). These SPs are defined as “lay people who are trained to portray a patient with a specific condition in a realistic way, sometimes in a standardized way (where they give a consistent presentation, which does not vary from student to student)” ( 6 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of using simulated or real patients on undergraduate medical students acquiring competencies in medical conversations in surgery: A prospective, controlled study

et al. 2022

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BackgroundCommunication with patients and their relatives as well as with colleagues and students is an essential part of every physician's daily work. An established method for teaching communication skills is using simulated patients (SPs). However, teaching with SPs is often subjectively perceived by medical students as less instructive than teaching with real patients (RPs). Studies that analyze the influence of SPs compared to RPs for acquiring competencies are lacking. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the impact of SPs on long-term learning success for communication skills compared to RPs.Material and MethodsStudy participants were undergraduate third-year medical students who attended a communication unit and were randomized into three groups. The first group trained the role-play part with a SP (SP-group). The second group trained with a SP but thought that the patient was a RP because the students and the tutors were told that they were a RP by the principal investigator (incognito patient group [IP-group]). The third group and their tutors trained with a RP and were told that the patient was a RP (real patient group [RP-group]). Five to 12 weeks after completing the training, the study participants completed a curricular summative objective standardized clinical examination.ResultsThere were 146 students who participated in the study. There were no significant differences between the three study groups at the informed consent stations and for those conducting anamnesis interviews.ConclusionCommunication skills training with SPs appears to be equivalent to training with RPs in terms of competency development in communication-based assessments in surgery. Therefore, SPs should be used in these curricula, especially at an early stage, to enable the students to practice adequate communication skills.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of using simulated or real patients on undergraduate medical students acquiring competencies in medical conversations in surgery: A prospective, controlled study

et al. 2022

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“…They can record and evaluate doctors' operations on a specially designed table according to their feelings, and act as evaluators and teachers. The study by Sommer et al (Sommer et al, 2019), shows that the application of standardized patients in the standardized training of residents can not only deal with the problem caused by incomplete disease but also improve the residents' learning interest in clinical work, enhance basic knowledge and the ability to communicate with patients.…”

Section: Improve Procedures In the Standardized Training Of Residentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discussion on the Standardized Training Process of Professional Degree Postgraduate of Clinical Medicine under the Dual-Track Integration Mode

Liang¹,

Li²,

Huang³

et al. 2022

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The standardized training of residents is the only way for medical students to start clinical medical work and is also an important measure for the Chinese education department to foster clinicians with good professional ethics, solid medical knowledge, and clinical skills. Through standardized training of residents, a resident physician can diagnose and treat the common diseases independently and normatively in his related major. As a group of people who intend to engage in clinical medical work, postgraduate students in clinical medicine need to receive standardized training for resident physicians while receiving postgraduate education. Now, we will discuss that problems existing in the training process of postgraduates of clinical medicine master's degree about course schedule are scattered, training of skill operation isn't comprehensive, training of residents' first diagnosis is not consummate, pressure in life and spirit is really high. And through optimizing course settings, improving procedures in the standardized training of residents, improving the role of tutors, and letting students learn and summarize on their own, we can improve the training process in our school.

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“…The intended or actual incorporation into the final medical assessments both increase the importance of SPs and the challenges institutions face related to planning, financing, and community engagement as well as practical implementation. 25 , 26 According to a 2021 article, University of Leipzig has incorporated SP-based communication skills trainings as an integral part of the education offered by German medical schools. Almost every degree program includes communication skills training featuring SPs and feedback during students’ second and third years of study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diverse Integration of Simulated Patients in Medical Education for Communication, Language, and Clinical Skills in Hungary

Eklics,

Csongor,

Hambuch

et al. 2024

AMEP

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Medical education and communication training has been undergoing substantial changes recently in our globalized environment. Multidisciplinary simulation-based methods worldwide focus on improving effective clinical skills including history taking, physical examination, diagnostic skills, critical thinking, therapeutic skills, and others via interactions between medical students, trainees, and patients. Recently, Hungary has joined such global trends. The first simulated patient program in Hungary was developed at the University of Pécs Medical School in 2019 to aid effective patient-interviewing skills in language and communication classes. Under the supervision of linguists, communication specialists and medical professionals, the multidisciplinary program uses lay people to perform as simulated patients while using the languages of Hungarian, German, and English. Our simulated patient program plays a specific role in supporting students to learn languages for medical purposes, aiming to prepare them for handling the medical, linguistic, at the same, time emotional and sociocultural difficulties encountered while taking patient histories. Medical and linguistic experts evaluate student performance, provide feedback, and give tailored instruction so that students can advance their communicative and professional skills. This study discusses working formats and the role of constructive feedback exploring potential advantages and disadvantages, sharing ideas, and proposing recommendations on language- and communication-based integration of simulated patients. In our elective communication courses, undergraduate medical students learn to cope with a variety of patient situations through practicing medical emergencies, misunderstandings, and disagreements in a safe atmosphere provided by the MediSkillsLab. Among the benefits, we should emphasize that any course with a growing number of students can be accommodated by carefully designing the program, which allows for interprofessional collaboration. This program contributes to higher-quality medical education, promoting more skilled and compassionate healthcare specialists.

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Simulated patients in medical education – a survey on the current status in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Influence of using simulated or real patients on undergraduate medical students acquiring competencies in medical conversations in surgery: A prospective, controlled study

Influence of using simulated or real patients on undergraduate medical students acquiring competencies in medical conversations in surgery: A prospective, controlled study

Discussion on the Standardized Training Process of Professional Degree Postgraduate of Clinical Medicine under the Dual-Track Integration Mode

Diverse Integration of Simulated Patients in Medical Education for Communication, Language, and Clinical Skills in Hungary

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