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Chicago » Dr. Allan L. and Mary L. Graham Clinical Performance Center » Why Use Standardized Clinical Encounters?

Why Use Standardized Clinical Encounters?

For teaching clinical skills, standardized patients and practical instructors offer lively interactivity and immediate feedback

  • Interactive encounters with standardized patients promote the development and assessment of interpersonal and communication skills that are key to successful practice
  • Standardized patients and practical instructors provide effective, interactive feedback at the end of theencounter when the learner is most receptive to instruction
  • Participants can review digital recordings of their encountersto gain insight into their interpersonal behavior andbedside manner
  • Important scenarios such as ethical dilemmas and medical emergencies can be practiced and discussed in a safe environment

For assessments of clinical competency, standardized clinical encounters provide enhanced validity and reliability

  • The scenarios closely simulate the actual conditions of practice, allowing construction of a highly valid and interpretable examination.
  • A post-encounter checklist or rating scale completed by the standardized patient can reliably assess the learner's clinical interview, physical examination and interpersonal skills.
  • he student's ability to recognize, interpret and apply the information they obtain can be evaluated by having the student complete a "patient findings questionnaire" after the encounter.
  • Because of the consistent reproducibility of the stimulus presented by the standardized encounter, many persons can be confidently and reliably assessedon the same case, allowing direct comparison across individuals.