Have you ever heard of a standardized medical patient? In layman's terms, it’s an actor portraying a medical patient with an illness to allow doctors to practice being a doctor. Officially it’s a program that hospitals and medical schools use to help teach and evaluate medical professionals on physical examinations, counseling, interviewing, history-taking, communication skills, and personal interaction with patients.
I have been working as a standardized patient for many years at Maine Medical Center and have played the role of many patients with varying illnesses and have helped many medical professionals what it’s like from the patient’s perspective. I’m given a script with medical history, fake name and symptoms to act out for the medical students who must treat and diagnose me in 20 minutes. It's an invaluable experience for the medical professionals.
Christine Mallar, the Standardized Patient program coordinator at Maine Medical Center, shares more about the importance of this program, how it’s standardized across the nation, how it advances patient safety and transforms health care education which creates better medical care for all.
To learn more about work as a standardized patient, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions document
Email: splab@mmc.org
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