Widening the lens on standardized patient assessment: what the encounter can reveal about the development of clinical competence.

Abstract

The standardized patient (SP) examination is used in a majority of medical schools to test clinical skills. This examination usually yields both numerical ratings of clinical skill and narrative comments by patients or observers, yet most empirical studies of SP assessment focus on the numerical ratings only. This quantitative focus can lead to a narrow conceptualization of the nature and development of clinical competence. The authors suggest that in addition to utilizing SP numerical ratings, medical educators also use the rich qualitative material produced in the SP examination (e.g., patient comments, videotapes of the examination) to explore students' development of clinical competence, which involves the purposive integration of basic science, technical skill, empathy, communication, professional role, and personal history.