Assessment & Learning

Standardized Patient Program

The Standardized Patient Program at UNM is among the oldest in the country. Originating in 1979, the program employs more than 115 Standardized Patients (SPs) who are trained to portray actual patients during student assessment and learning activities. Through SPs, students learn and practice vital clinical and communications skills beginning in their first week of medical school.

Standardized Patients: Who are they?

Standardized Patients (SPs) are people from all walks of life, age groups, and educational backgrounds who play an essential role in educating future healthcare professionals. SPs are also called simulated patients as they substitute for actual patients during student assessment and learning activities.

SPs provide students the opportunity to practice clinical skills including: Obtaining medical histories, conducting physical exams and communicating effectively. In many instances SPs also offer structured feedback to students in the form of checklists, written and verbal comments.

Qualifications:

SPs must have:

• Excellent memory
• Good people skills
• Keen analytical skills
• Ability to concentrate
• Constant attention to detail
• Interest in helping clinical students practice patient care skills is essential

It’s hard work, but it’s very rewarding. As an SP, you will contribute to the education of tomorrow’s healthcare professionals.

Information for Prospective Standardized Patients:

The History of the SP Program at UNM

The SP Program at UNM is one of the oldest in the country. Our program was founded in 1979 and has become a model to other, newer SP programs around the country.

The SP program supports medical and other Health Sciences clinical students by offering more than 300 students over 700 simulated patient encounters annually. Today we have more than 115 active SPs and a full time staff which supports educational assessment at the School of Medicine and the Health Sciences Center.

How SPs Benefit Students

• SPs are not actually sick and worried about their care so the SP can focus on the needs of the learner rather than the student focusing on the needs of a sick patient.
• SPs provide a “safe” learning environment for students to practice clinical skills early in their training prior to seeing “real” patients
• SPs give students the opportunity to practice communicating effectively to hone their bedside manner prior to having to give “real” patients important or difficult news
• SPs are trained in groups to give a standardized portrayal so that each student will have the same learning opportunity
• SPs are trained to give focused written and verbal feedback to students which “real” patients rarely do

How SPs Benefit From Doing This Work

• Growth and gratification by making a significant contribution to the training of future health care professionals.
• Develop and hone your own inter-personal communication skills.
• Learn constructive methods and strategies for offering feedback.
• Meet unique co-workers with common interests.
• Gain a better understanding of our healthcare system.

How SPs are Trained

Prior to training for each case, the SP receives a case script which details the patient’s “story.” This includes the patient’s social and family background, emotional affect and communication style as well as medical symptoms the SP will be expected to convey to students.

Training Specialists at the School of Medicine teach groups of SPs to accurately portray the patients’ character, social history, present illness, and other case details. Trainers ensure that all SPs in a group are consistent or “standardized” in portraying the patient and documenting their observations of the student’s performance.

Our training staff values the ability of SPs to perform case details consistently as well as to observe and record student behaviors accurately.

Employment FAQs

What are the Hours Standardized Patients Work? Most training sessions and exams are scheduled Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Usually a single training session lasts between 2-3 hours. There can be just 1 or up to 4 training sessions per exam. Exam times range anywhere from 1 to 8 hours per day and can span 1 to 3 days. Occasionally exams occur on Saturdays.

What is the employment status of an SP at UNM?  The SP job description is classified as a part-time, on-call position at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

What is the salary for SPs? Starting pay for SPs is $11 per hour Senior SPs make up to $17 per hour. 

Request an Application

What are you doing with your spare time? Contact us!

Apply Online

For more information or to request a paper SP application, please contact a member of our Training Staff at (505) 272-8028.