Assessment of simulated patient's professional competence in health professional education: A scoping review.
Creators: name: Jaramillo-Rincon, Sandra
name: Yepes-Nuñez, Juan J.
name: Ariza, Sergio Andres León
name: Villarreal, Elizabeth Fernanda Rios
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Education
subject: SP assessment
subject: simulated patient
subject: competence assessment

description: The research project aims to address the question of assessing simulated patient performance in clinical teaching scenarios. The justification for this research is that the effectiveness of practicing with simulated patients (SPs) in medical education is not solely determined by the quality of scripts provided to actors but by their performance and interaction with students. Despite structured training, issues like standardization failures, feedback limitations, SP-student interactions, and skill development hinder the experience with SPs in both learning and assessment scenarios. The research aims to answer three main questions: 1. What assessment tools exist for evaluating performance in simulated clinical scenarios involving SPs? 2. Is there a need for new performance evaluation tools for SPs? 3. What is the validity of a competency-based assessment system for SPs? The project identifies a gap in the literature regarding the competency-based assessment of SPs in routine pedagogical practice. To address this, the researchers propose a scoping review to describe systems and assessment tools for evaluating the competence of SPs in the context of simulated clinical teaching for healthcare professionals. The intention is to enhance the learning experience for students and teachers, improve academic outcomes, and optimize case standardization and learning and assessment objectives. Theoretical and conceptual frameworks are presented to contextualize the research. Professional competence, assessment methods, and the role of SPs are discussed within these frameworks. The study acknowledges the need for SPs to possess various skills, including acting, pedagogic, planning and leadership, and thematic crafts. The study highlights the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) best practice standards. It introduces the APPT framework for SP training, emphasizing SPs as simulation program stakeholders. The research objectives are to determine and evaluate existing evidence regarding measurement tools for assessing the professional competence of SPs in clinical teaching contexts. The specific goals include: Identifying assessment tools for SP performance evaluation. Evaluating the validity of these tools. Exploring the potential need for new tools. The research methodology involves a scoping review, following Cochrane parameters and PRISMA checklist guidelines. Inclusion criteria cover studies describing or evaluating tools for assessing SP performance in clinical teaching contexts. Quantitative and qualitative analyses will be included. Data extraction and analysis involve screening selected articles, summarizing information, and identifying assessment tools for SP performance. A risk of bias assessment will not be conducted due to the scoping nature of the review. The study's findings are expected to provide insights into existing assessment tools for SPs, their validity, and the potential need for new tools. This research could enhance the effectiveness of SP-based clinical teaching scenarios, ultimately improving healthcare education outcomes.