What is a Standardized Patient?

Many medical schools locally and across the country make frequent use of standardized patients (SP) as part of their medical training curriculum. SP’s act the part of patients during encounters with the students. I have worked as an SP since 2003 with several colleges and universities in the Portland area. I will describe what SP programs entail and the different ways SP’s are trained and utilized. I will also share my experience over a wide range of specific case scenarios that are used to give the students an introduction with real life situations they will encounter in their practice.