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Jamande
Jones reads a standardized patient's file before entering the examination
room at The Brody School of Medicine last week.
(Rhett Butler/The Daily Reflector) |
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Brody students practice patient assessment skills By Tom Marine Jess Maxwell came to the emergency department on the recommendation of his family physician. During the previous 24 hours, he experienced the gradual onset of abdominal pain that caused cramps and nausea. He appeared anxious at his physical exam and occasionally groaned deeply. There is one wrinkle to this story — Jess Maxwell does not exist. He
is a character played by a standardized patient in the office of clinical
skills assessment and education at the Brody School of Medicine. Standardized patients provide medical
students with the opportunity to practice listening to patients, hearing what
they have to say and doing it in a timely fashion, said Maria Clay, interim
chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and director of clinical skills
assessment and education. “From the
student perspective, I think this is wonderful,” Clay said. “What I think is
fun, is the partnership that develops between the student and the
standardized patient. They become partners in the student's learning.” The learning process works by having the standardized patients, who
are employed by East Carolina University, take on new names and illnesses to
be examined by the medical students. The exam is filmed and the students are
then graded on how well they treated the patient. “It's a way for medical students to utilize the rich talents of
our community and for the community to work with health care providers,” Clay
said. Isabelle Plant is a former standardized patient who now helps run the
audio visual room at the office. She said the load of cases they run each day
depends on the total number of students who come from the medical school, the
College of Nursing and the physicians assistant program. “It enlightens some of the up-and-coming
doctors about some of the techniques,” Plant said. “That is the biggest
thing, because some forget they still have a lot to learn.” Angie Reid, who has worked nine months as a standardized patient,
said she enjoys the role-playing element of the job. “Today, I was literally a mental case and
other days I have appendicitis,” she said. “I think it is huge, giving (the
students) the opportunity to have hands-on experience. I've seen students
from other schools that didn't have this experience, and they were hesitant.”
Before the exam, Reid said she receives a script that explains who
she is and what she is suffering from. She said there is very little room to
improvise during the physical exam because they are asked to stay within the
realm of the script. “The main thing
is just feeling like you are helping the students to have a more enriched
learning experience,” said Reid, who comes in to act between three and five
times each month. For Jim Williams, becoming a standard patient was the perfect hobby
after he retired, he said. Williams
said giving back to the community in his own small way is something he loves
doing, adding he has never had more enjoyment doing anything that could be
called work. “This is oriented toward
helping students learn to be compassionate in the way they express themselves
to the patients they are treating,” he said. “I've talked to older faculty
members that will tell you how they wish there was this kind of practice when
they went through school.” Rebecca Rawl, a third year medical student at Brody, explained how
practicing on standardized patients is particularly useful on the licensing
exam. That exam, she said, contains a section that utilizes standardized
patients. Since the medical students
have practiced with standardized patients as part of the curriculum, Rawl
said it gives them feedback and the chance to apply what they learned. “Basically, they allow us to learn these
exams in a way that is timed and not threatening,” Rawl said. “It allows us
to practice before we are cut loose on real patients.” Contact Tom Marine at tmarine@coxnc.com or at (252) 329-9567. |
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