Using standardized patients as teachers: a concurrent controlled trial.

Abstract

PURPOSE: To compare two methods of teaching physical assessment, a traditional faculty-taught course and a course with components taught by specially trained standardized patients (SPs), with respect to students' performances and costs. METHOD: Medical students in their second year and without preliminary course work in physical assessment were taught by faculty-led small groups. Students in their first year were taught by faculty-led lecture-demonstrations and exercises led by physical examination teaching associates (PETAs). Both groups of students were tested with a performance-based examination that involved six identical stations. The costs of both courses were calculated using faculty and SP salaries. RESULTS: There was no difference in students' performances on two of the stations, those involving the eye and abdominal examinations. The class that had been taught by PETAs, however, demonstrated a statistically significant performance advantage on the remaining four stations. The cost saving from using the PETAs was conservatively estimated at $24,155. CONCLUSION: Specially trained SPs can effectively teach the normal physical examination to medical students and are a less expensive alternative to traditional faculty small-group teaching methods.