Evaluating a New Teaching Method: Engaging Social Workers As Standardized Patients

While using standardized patients (SP) has become a more common practice in Schools of Medicine and Nursing, some Social Work programs are beginning to engage SPs and simulation labs within their curricular offerings. A SP is defined as “a person who has been carefully coached to simulate an actual patient so accurately that the simulation cannot be detected by a skilled clinician. In performing the simulation, the SP presents the gestalt of the patient being simulated; not just the history, but the body language, the physical findings, and the emotional and personality characteristics as well" (Barrows, 1963). SPs are used to provide a learning opportunity for students in a structured environment with purposeful situations that are created depending on the knowledge and skills that are to be demonstrated by the students.

One School engaged clinicians from the community to serve as SPs in two practice classes taught by the same professor during Fall 2014.  A total of 48 students participated in demonstrating skills to engage in assessment and intervention using an SP in a simulation lab. SPs were identified from the community beginning with social workers currently serving as field supervisors and extending over to practitioners in the community. All the SPs had a minimum of 2 years post masters experience. The instructor developed or identified case examples and had specific statements that the SP had to state during the simulated session. At the end of the session, the SP had an opportunity to share with the student on strengths and areas that needed strengthening. During the simulated session, a peer student was at the observation room and through a one-way mirror observed the session and rated the student on the “observation form”. Finally, the student who played the role of a “clinician” rated him/herself on their learning experience with the SP. Each student had about 15 minutes with the SP and about 5 minutes for verbal feedback.

Three forms were developed to measure how students demonstrated their knowledge values and skills while engaging in clinical assessment, intervention and communication skills. The first assessment, “Standardized Patient (SP) evaluation of student ‘clinician’” was administered by the SP at the end of the session. The second one, “Observation Form” was administered by another student in the class for peer observation and feedback for open ended statements.  Finally, the students rated on “Student learning with Standardized Patient (SP)” their learning experience.

The findings and the rich experience gained by both the students and the SP’s will be presented in this roundtable for discussion. After the findings are presented, some key questions as it relates to social work practice and research will be addressed:

1. How do we prepare social work students to be practitioners in an every changing context and environment?
2. What mechanisms could be identified to facilitate learning by engaging SP’s when teaching face to face; fully online or in hybrid classes?
3. What are the methodological challenges that could be avoided to measure accurate learning experiences?