A mixed methods study of student perceptions of using standardized patients for learning and evaluation
Bibliographic record
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Educators recognize the value of using standardized patients (SPs) when teaching and evaluating clinical skills in rehabilitation entry-to-practice education programs but have published little supporting evidence and have yet to evaluate programmatic SP use from a student perspective. This study explored occupational and physical therapy students' perceptions of SP use in their professional education. METHODS: Recruiting current and graduated students, we conducted a two-phase mixed-methods sequential-explanatory study integrating data from a quantitative survey (phase 1) and qualitative focus groups with representative students (phase 2). Quantitative data were used to direct the second phase and informed selection of a purposive sample to participate in four focus groups (N=12). RESULTS: The 24-item online survey obtained a 32% response rate (N=167). Mean ratings were high, but significant differences were found between the four subsections of Teaching, SP Experience, Feedback, and Evaluation (P=0.000). Secondary analyses revealed significant differences based on sex, program, and age. Qualitative analysis revealed that students found SP use especially helpful earlier in their program to bridge classroom teaching and clinical practice. Students in the occupational and physical therapy programs approached SP interactions differently in terms of the authenticity, personal investment, and value of SP feedback. Educator feedback was perceived as reflective of technical skill, and SP feedback reflective of therapeutic value, which students prioritized differently. Students identified a preferential continuum of options for learning and practicing skills, ranging from peers and instructors through SPs to actual patients. CONCLUSION: SPs were perceived as most useful early on in the professional education program, serving to bolster self-confidence and prepare students for clinical fieldwork. Discipline-specific differences impact the perception of SP use and value. Educators need to be aware of pragmatic and contextual issues when using SPs for examination purposes, including repeated exposure to the same actor.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.033 | 0.049 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Open science | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".