Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41152867›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2025

When simulation becomes physical: vicarious symptoms in standardized patients during osces.

Alexis Rybak, Maxens Decavele, Jessica Taytard, Manon Allaire, Nada Sabourdin, Laure Serresse, Nadia Nathan, Yanis Tamzali, Marie-Christine Renaud, Alain Carrié and 3 more

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Article in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

2 · The registry

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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.

3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Alexis RybakDepartment of Pediatrics, Department Woman-Mother-Child, Lausanne University Hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. alexis.rybak@chuv.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2898-3710
Maxens DecaveleOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Jessica TaytardOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Manon AllaireOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Nada SabourdinOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Laure SerresseOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Nadia NathanOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Yanis TamzaliOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Marie-Christine RenaudOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Alain CarriéOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Jean-Philippe FoyOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Antoine MonselOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Hugo BottemanneOSCE Research Group, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObjective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are a cornerstone of undergraduate medical student assessment evaluating encounters between students and simulated patients (SPs). SPs are at risk of developing non-specific symptoms such as stress and anxiety. However, data on physical sensations related to their role, vicarious symptoms (VSs), are limited. We sought to measure the prevalence of VSs among SPs and identify factors among socio-demographic characteristics and psychometric scales associated with their presence.

methodsThis was a prospective single-center cohort study in a large French medical University during three OSCE exams. New VSs and their intensity using 0-100 numerical rate scale were assessed in SPs at the end of the examination day and seven days later using electronical survey. Health anxiety (excessive concern about illness) was measured before the examination using IAS scale. Interoceptive sensitivity (awareness of bodily signals) was also measured before the examination using MAIA-2 and THISQ scales. We performed a multinomial logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with the appearance of VSs.

resultsAmong the 428 SPs participating to the OSCEs examens, data from 244 SPs were analyzed. On the day of the OSCE, 12% of participants reported VSs (median intensity of 30, interquartile range 20–50). During the following week, 11% experienced similar symptoms (intensity 50, 30–60). Overall, 20% of SPs reported VSs either during the day of OSCEs or during the following week. Personal experience of a similar condition as the one played (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.07, 95% confidence interval 1.33–7.07, p = 0.008) and higher IAS scores (aOR 1.03 per point, 1.01–1.05, p = 0.03) were associated with VSs occurrence. MAIA-2 and THISQ scores were not associated with the presence of these symptoms using multivariate analysis. DISCUSSION: VSs are frequent among SPs particularly when the role is similar to a personal experience and in SP with higher IAS scores. The findings may inform on the selection and the preparation of SPs for OSCEs while shedding light on the influence of symptom portrayal on bodily experiences and its potential influence on the quality of the SPs acting across students.

trial registrationNot applicable.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceEducational MeasurementEducation, Medical, UndergraduatePatient SimulationStudents, MedicalAdultAnxietyFemaleFranceHumansMaleProspective StudiesPsychometricsYoung AdultIllness attitudes scaleMultidimensional assessment of interoceptive awarenessObjective structured clinical examinationsStandardized patientThree-domain interoceptive sensations questionnaireVicarious symptoms

Identifiers

PMID41152867
PMCPMC12570795

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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.