Abstract
The primary goal of medical education is to foster development of clinical competence in trainees at all levels. Variable clinical experience, inconsistent methods of instruction, and ambiguous evaluation criteria undermine this goal. Standardized patients, trained to consistently portray a wide variety of clinical cases, can help overcome many of these educational problems. This article describes the development and application of standardized patients throughout medical training at The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, in the freshman interviewing course, the second-year physical diagnosis course, third-year clerkships, a fourth-year final exercise, and residency training. Development of this program is discussed in the context of a broader literature in medical education, and investigation of variables affecting standardized patient and student performance is reported. Future directions for use of standardized patients in monitoring and promoting the development of clinical competence are discussed.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
