The teaching effectiveness of standardized patients

Teaching nursing students therapeutic communication skills begins in the classroom and extends to the clinical environment. The usual method of instruction consists of random patient encounters observed by faculty and measures of competence that rely on paper-and-pencil tests. Using standardized patients (SPs) offers an alternative approach to the traditional method of teaching. Standardized patients are individuals who have been carefully trained to present an illness or scenario in a standardized, unvarying manner. This pilot study compared use of SPs with the usual method of instruction in a class of undergraduate nursing students. Results indicated that students who participated in the SP method overwhelmingly described the experience as positive, creative, and meaningful. No significant differences were found between the two groups on measures of interpersonal skills, therapeutic communication skills, and knowledge of depression.