Healthcare Communication Program
What are standardized patients?
Standardized patients (SPs) are people who have been trained to simulate patients in medical situations in a defined, consistent and standardized manner.
By portraying a patient, an SP helps others learn how to interact with patients.
How do we use SPs?
We use SPs for a variety of reasons, including to see how well a student, resident, fellow or practicing provider can get information from a patient or do a physical exam, to let doctors practice difficult communication situations before having those conversations in the “real world,” and to demonstrate a senior physician’s communication skills to learners.
The SP gives feedback to the learner based on the interaction. The SP’s role is flexible, depending on the learner’s needs and the objectives of the educational activity. The role could encompass a variety of portrayals, such as:
- A patient
- A patient instructor (specifically, guiding a learner through a skill development, such as an abdominal exam)
- A learner ally (providing information to the learner during a simulated encounter, like a trauma simulation)
- A family member or friend of a patient
- A healthcare provider (e.g., physician, nurse)
In these different roles, the SP can educate on and achieve a number of different objectives:
- History-taking skills
- Physical exam skills
- Communication skills
- Examination skills
- Ultrasound skills
Why do we use SPs?
The critical aspect of our Healthcare Communication Program is the ability to recreate a clinical setting in which the learner can practice their clinical and interpersonal skills with a standardized patient. SPs are valuable for these roles and teaching objectives, as they give the educator a great deal of control over a clinical encounter.
What do we do in our Healthcare Communication Program?
Our Healthcare Communication Program process includes writing cases for standardized encounters, training SPs, developing assessment tools and providing the logistics/environment for the program. We have six standardized patient clinic rooms and can simulate inpatient room settings in the Geisinger Education & Medical Simulation (GEMS) Center simulation space using a standardized patient flex pool. We develop sessions based on the learners’ needs and use different learning formats, including SP encounters for evaluation, as well as small- and large-group coaching and feedback sessions. We have developed several cases, but are constantly updating and developing new ones, including:
- Standardized patients – We have a pool of 40 trained actors.
- Relationship-centered communication faculty – More than 30 faculty members are trained in relationship-centered communication to coach and provide feedback during SP sessions.
What is the process for using the Healthcare Communication Program?
If you’re interested in communication skills training using standardized patients, contact Stephanie Long (MC 26-31)
We’ll arrange a meeting with our team members and the requesting faculty member and administrator, if appropriate. During the meeting, we will plan the details of your training session and begin to write the case or select one from our library.
Locations
Center for Healthcare Communication
We offer six simulated clinic rooms, four inpatient rooms for standardized patient interactions and two classrooms.
Geisinger Education and Medical Simulation (GEMS) Center - Northeast
This center contains a classroom, two inpatient rooms, six outpatient rooms and a conference room.
Nicole Woll, PhD, MEd
Vice Dean for Faculty and Professional Development
Executive Director of Geisinger Academy of Educators
Nicole Woll, PhD, MEd, is the vice dean of faculty development and the executive director of Geisinger Academy of Educators. Dr. Woll oversees the Clinical Simulation Program and the Healthcare Communication Program.
Dan Davis, PhD
Program Director of the Healthcare Communication Program
Associate Chief of Clinical Ethics
Dan Davis, PhD, is the program director of the Healthcare Communication Program. Dr. Davis offers guidance and support in the development, implementation and facilitation of communication training programs for UME, GME and CPD learners. He also provides faculty development for those who would like to participate as facilitators of the program. As part of his role, Dr. Davis assesses the climate in the clinical learning environment from a clinical perspective and brings themes and topics back to the program for incorporation into goals and objectives.
April Morgan, MEd
Education Director of Faculty and Professional Development
April Morgan is the director of education. Ms. Morgan provides leadership in the areas of curriculum development, program revision, assessment, evaluation and scholarly activity over simulation, healthcare communication, faculty development and health professions education.
Samantha Lee, MHS, CHSE
Manager of Curriculum and Medical Simulation
Samantha Lee, MHS, is the manager for curriculum and medical simulation. Ms. Lee oversees the Clinical Simulation Program and the Healthcare Communication Program. She creates, organizes, implements, monitors and evaluates a comprehensive program of clinical simulation and healthcare communication education and assessment, including standardized patients and teams, task trainers and high-fidelity simulations, web-based modules and workshops for medical students, residents, practicing physicians, advanced practitioners and other members of the health care team. Ms. Lee also promotes clinical simulation and communication training activities to support interprofessional and interdisciplinary teamwork, educational accreditation, maintenance of certification, patient safety and quality initiatives.
Stephanie Long
Program Coordinator
Stephanie Long is the program coordinator for the Healthcare Communication Program. Ms. Long promotes activities to support interprofessional and interdisciplinary teamwork, educational accreditation, and maintenance of certification, patient safety and quality initiatives. She integrates simulation to effectively train and objectively assess applied knowledge, adequacy of skills and level of competence. Ms. Long also offers support for logistics, recruitment, training and quality of standardized case encounters.
Samantha Norton
Education Specialist
Samantha Norton, MFA, serves as specialist for the Healthcare Communication Program. Samantha promotes and coordinates activities to support interprofessional and interdisciplinary teamwork, provides faculty and learner support for interprofessional education programs, facilitates interdisciplinary forum for interprofessional education programs, supports and makes recommendations for curriculum and evaluations, and makes recommendations for and assists in the development of new educational initiatives relevant to healthcare learners.