ReviewThe patient2016
The Benefits and Risks of Being a Standardized Patient: A Narrative Review of the Literature.
Review in The patient, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- Faculty standardized patients versus traditional teaching method to improve clinical competence among traditional Chinese medicine students: a prospective randomized controlled trial.BMC medical education · 2024Trial
- Harnessing lived experience in health professions simulation-based education: a scoping review.Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice · 2026Article
- Nigerian dramatic arts students' willingness to train as standardized patients.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- When simulation becomes physical: vicarious symptoms in standardized patients during osces.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Simulation in Obstetric and Gynecologic Ultrasound Training: Design and Implementation Considerations.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- The Usability of Neurological Occupational Therapy Case Studies Generated by ChatGPT.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A Systematic Review of Emotional, Cognitive, and Logistical Factors Influencing Simulated Patient Performance in Simulation-Based Education.Advances in medical education and practice · 2025Review
- Application of Large Language Models in Medical Training Evaluation-Using ChatGPT as a Standardized Patient: Multimetric Assessment.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- An e-Learning Intervention for Professionals to Promote Family-Centered Cancer Care When a Significant Caregiver for Children Is at End of Life: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Review
- Family dyads, emotional labor, and holding environments in the simulated encounter: co-constructive patient simulation as a reflective tool in child and adolescent psychiatry training.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2023Article
- Artificial Intelligence Supporting the Training of Communication Skills in the Education of Health Care Professions: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Article
- Simulated Patients for Competency-Based Undergraduate Medical Education Post COVID-19: A New Normal in India.Indian pediatrics · 2021Review
- Using the Higher Learning Commission's Assessment Culture Matrix to Support Continuous Quality Improvement of a Simulated Patient Program.Innovations in pharmacy · 2021Article
- Nothing about me without me: a scoping review of how illness experiences inform simulated participants' encounters in health profession education.BMJ simulation & technology enhanced learning · 2021Article
- 'It's the ultimate observer role…you're feeling and seeing what's happening to you': students' experiences of peer simulation.BMJ simulation & technology enhanced learning · 2021Article
- Engaging young people as simulated patients: a qualitative description of health professional educators' perspectives.BMJ simulation & technology enhanced learning · 2021Article
- A Virtual Counseling Application Using Artificial Intelligence for Communication Skills Training in Nursing Education: Development Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Article
- "Please let me know when I do not realize it myself": a qualitative analysis of senior simulated patients' experiences.Advances in simulation (London, England) · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Standardized patients (SPs) are a widely used, valid, and reliable means of teaching and evaluating healthcare providers (HCPs) across all levels of training and across multiple domains of both clinical and communication skills. Most research on SP programs focuses on outcomes pertinent to the learners (i.e., HCPs) rather than how this experience affects the SPs themselves. This review seeks to summarize the current literature on the risks and benefits of being an SP. We reviewed the literature on the effects that simulation has on adults, children/adolescents, and medical professionals who serve as SPs, in addition to real patients (RPs) who are involved in teaching by sharing their medical histories and experiences. To collect the literature, we conducted two separate systematic searches: one for SPs and one for RPs. Following the searches, we applied standardized eligibility criteria to narrow the literature down to articles within the scope of this review. A total of 67 studies were included that focused on the outcomes of SPs or RPs. The benefits for those portraying SP roles include improved health knowledge and attitudes, relationships with their HCPs, and changed health behaviors. Negative effects of being an SP include anxiety, exhaustion/fatigue, and physical discomfort immediately following a simulation, but the literature to date appears to indicate that there are no long-lasting effects. These findings are consistent across age groups and the type of role being simulated. They are also supported by studies of RPs who are involved in medical education. Overall, the benefits of being an SP appear to outweigh the known risks. However, there are significant limitations in the current literature, and additional studies are needed to better characterize the SP experience.
Indexed as
Identifiers
26002043What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.