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Standardized Patient Feedback

Feedback is a valuable tool, as it provides learners with information regarding how their communication and/or actions affect a patient’s experience.

When requested by the tutor, standardized patients (SPs) are prepared to deliver feedback to learners from the patient’s perspective. To provide feedback, the SP will step out of role and offer both positive and constructive feedback in a subjective, nonjudgmental manner. SPs are not to speak to the clinical acumen or healthcare knowledge of a learner.

Below are some common examples of SP feedback for in-person and virtual interactions:

  • Whether the learner could be seen and heard clearly
  • Whether consent was obtained prior to beginning a physical examination
  • If the learner addressed confidentiality
  • Any distractions within the learner’s control (e.g., eating or drinking during interview, taking notes at inappropriate times, background)
  • Observations on body language (i.e., eye contact, slouched, tense, proximity)
  • The learner’s use of language during the simulation (e.g., stigmatizing/stereotypical, judgmental, too clinical, empathetic, etc.)
  • Whether the learner made assumptions (e.g., about knowledge, feelings or identities)
  • Overall feeling as a patient (e.g., listened to, comforted, safe, reassured versus judged, ignored, discouraged, disrespected, etc.) and provide specific examples of what the learner did to make them feel a certain way

If an SP has extensive, serious or personal concerns about the simulation, they may request to privately speak to the tutor after a session.