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2026 ASPE Awards Ceremony

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jul
28

Submitted and written up by Mary Launder

The 2026 ASPE Conference, “25 Years of Excellence,” celebrated the remarkable achievements within the ASPE community while looking forward to its future. One of the conference’s traditions is the annual awards program, which recognizes outstanding members whose dedication, leadership, and service have made lasting contributions to the ASPE community and beyond. Eligible ASPE members are nominated by their colleagues and peers, and each nomination is evaluated through a fair, inclusive, and standardized process conducted by the awards committees.  The 2026 Awards Ceremony was held on June 23 & 24, 2026 in St Louis MO.

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Did We Ever Learn How to Think?

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jul
28

Plenary Presentation given at ASPE Annual Conference 2026 by Pedro Cartaxo Cintra, CCRN, MSc, PhD(c) 

In this plenary session, Pedro Cartaxo Cintra explored the concept of metacognition – the ability to observe, evaluate, and regulate our own thinking – and discussed its implications for meaningful, lasting learning.
 
The first part of the presentation focused on distinguishing metacognition from thinking. Metacognition, broadly, is thinking about thinking. John Flavel, one of the early pioneers in the field, describes metacognition as not only knowing how you think, but knowing when your thinking is failing, and knowing how to adjust it.
 
Thinking is not the same as learning, but learning requires a cognitive process; thinking can lead to learning. Therefore, metacognition can affect how we learn.
 
Metacognition involves having situational awareness of our thoughts.  First, we have the perception of thought (what am I thinking?), followed by comprehension (why am I thinking this?), and finally, projection (if I continue thinking this way, where will it lead me?). In this way, metacognition can allow us to notice a mental shortcut before it misleads us. 
 
Pedro also talked about metacognition as it relates to liminality and the sometimes-uncomfortable process of learning.  Liminality refers to the threshold state where we are no longer who we were but not yet who we will become. Metacognition can help us recognize that the liminal state is part of the learning process and therefore help us navigate liminal spaces without escaping them prematurely.
 
So, how can we help learners begin to think about thinking?
 
  1. Make thinking visible: How did you arrive at that conclusion?
  2. Ask process questions: How did you decide?
  3. Normalize uncertainty. Recognize doubts.
  4. Use prediction: What challenges do you anticipate?
  5. Use calibration: How confident are you?
Thinking creates decisions. If metacognition can improve our thinking, then it follows that metacognition can also improve the quality of our decisions.
 
Of course, any conversation about thinking must acknowledge the growing influence of AI in our lives. If AI "thinks" for us, who will monitor the thinking? Pedro asserts that AI is unable to monitor its own thinking. Therefore, it falls on humans to examine, question, and refine the thinking process.
 
Throughout the presentation, Pedro held a conversation with a computerized feminine voice. Early in the presentation, a question was asked about whether the voice was AI or pre-recorded. Pedro revealed at the end of the session that the pre-recorded voice represented his own thoughts, thinking about thinking about thinking, or meta-metacognition.
 
Pedro concluded the presentation with the suggestion that the future of education may not depend on teaching people what to think but helping them learn how to think.
 
 As I reflect on this session, I'm reminded of concepts I've encountered in meditation, specifically the idea of the inner witness or inner observer, the part of ourselves who sits outside the constant stream of thoughts.  Is metacognition related to this inner witness?  And if meditation can help us take a breath and respond thoughtfully instead of simply reacting, perhaps metacognition, which allows us to observe our own thinking patterns, can be a tool to help interrupt bias or assumptions in our thoughts.  I left this session energized and ready to do more thinking about thinking. 

Read the full article on the [ASPE Blog] [https://www.aspeducators.org/aspe-e-news-blog].

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Educating for Empathy: A Simulation-Based Approach to Trauma-Informed Care in Residency Training

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jul
28

Lead Author: Elizabeth Cerceo
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

In this article, Cerceo et al discuss a study evaluating “the impact of a hybrid educational intervention—including didactics and standardized patient (SP) scenarios—on internal medicine residents’ empathy and attitudes toward TIC.” Fifty second-year IM residents underwent two 1-hour didactic sessions; a “case-based, in-class experiential session for group learning in how to interact with patients with sensitive issues”; a 3-station advanced communication OSCE; and optional surveys after 1, 3, and 6 months. Although the authors acknowledge that the difference between the pre- and post-test results were not statistically significant, they argue that the lack of a decline in the latter suggests “a positive trajectory since other studies document a decline in empathy over residency training.” According to the authors, “the primary contribution of this pilot study lies not in demonstrating statistically significant changes in empathy or trauma-informed attitudes, but in providing a detailed, implementation-ready description of a TIC curriculum that can be embedded within residency training.”
 
Read the full article in the [Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development] [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13018704/].
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Scaffolding Empathy: Training Counselors with Simulated Patients and Utterance-level Performance Visualizations

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jul
28

Lead Author: Ian Steenstra
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

According to Steenstra et al, half of the 28 counselor programs they investigated through meta-review use role plays for motivational interviewing and 18% of them use SPs. Yet, the authors note: “[a]lthough essential for learning, feedback from role-plays and standardized patients is infrequent, inconvenient, and potentially costly, since they involve another person who is often an actor with specialized training, and laborious coding and scoring of trainee-client interactions following standardized protocols.” “To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of training counselors,” they argue, “human standardized patients could be replaced with virtual, simulated patients.”
 
The article documents the authors’ foray into creation of a new LLM that “trainees can inter­act with in an unconstrained, unprompted manner, more closely approximating the experience of a human-human role-play.” They argue that such technology can “reduce costs associated with hiring actors, but also enhance the availability and adaptability of training scenarios, allowing per­sonalized and context-rich interactions for clinicians.” The model they developed provides a responsive interlocutor with detailed feedback and performance ratings. While the article’s focus is on the LLM instead of SPs, it may be of interest to ASPE members keeping on top of developments in competing/supplementary AI modalities.
 
Read the full article in the [CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems] [https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3706598.3714014].
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Evaluating Medical Students’ Engagement and Confidence Across Three Simulation-Based Education Methods: Standardized Patient, High Fidelity Simulator, and Virtual Reality

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jun
12

Lead Author: Jihye Yu
Submitted by: Amy Rush, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

This study of fifth-year medical students during a respiratory clinical rotation evaluates the effects of three key simulation methods—Standardized Patients (SP), High-Fidelity Simulators (HFS), and Virtual Reality (VR)—on their engagement and clinical performance confidence. After each simulation module, students’ engagement (interest, flow, relevance) and clinical confidence (history taking, physical examination, interacting and communicating with patients, clinical reasoning) were assessed using self-report surveys.
 
The authors found that simulation methods had little significant effect on students’ learning engagement or its sub-factors. However, there were significant differences in clinical performance confidence depending on the simulation module. Confidence in history taking, physical examination, and interacting and communicating with patients were significantly higher when working with SPs compared to High-Fidelity Simulators, and Virtual Reality.
 
Read the full article in the journal BMC Medical Education. [hyperlink].
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

From Responding to Families Who Express Biases: An Adaptable Standardized Participant Communication Simulation to Train Upstander Pediatric Providers

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jun
12

Authors: Kelly L. Corbett, Michelle Tyler, Frances Lim-Liberty, Juhi Rattan, Carol-Lynn O'Dea
By: Miranda Powell, AS, CHSE, University of South Alabama

The Study at a Glance
The article Responding to Families Who Express Biases: An Adaptable Standardized Participant Communication Simulation to Train Upstander Pediatric Providers focuses on preparing healthcare learners to respond to discriminatory or biased comments from patients’ families. The study introduces a simulation-based training that uses standardized participants (SPs) to portray family members expressing bias in pediatric care settings.
  
The goal of the simulation is to help learners develop “upstander” skills, meaning they are able to appropriately address bias while maintaining professionalism and patient-centered care. The training is designed to be adaptable across different settings and learner levels, making it a flexible tool in healthcare education.
  
Key Findings
One of the main findings is that simulation provides a safe and effective environment for learners to practice responding to bias. These are conversations that can be uncomfortable and difficult to navigate in real clinical settings, so having the opportunity to practice them beforehand is critical.
  
The study also found that structured scenarios with SPs allow learners to develop both communication strategies and confidence. Learners are able to practice addressing discriminatory remarks in real time, receive feedback, and reflect on their responses. This helps bridge the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it in practice.
  
Another key takeaway is the importance of adaptability. The simulation can be modified based on the learner’s experience level or the specific type of bias being addressed. This makes it a valuable tool for a wide range of healthcare training programs.
  
Implications on Healthcare Education
This study highlights a growing need in healthcare education to directly address bias and discrimination within clinical environments. Training providers to be upstanders is essential for promoting inclusive, equitable care and creating a safe environment for both patients and healthcare teams.
   
For simulation programs, this means expanding beyond traditional clinical scenarios to include more complex social and interpersonal challenges. SPs play a critical role in this by realistically portraying situations that learners may encounter in practice.
  
It also emphasizes the importance of intentional training design. Programs should not assume that learners will naturally know how to respond to bias. Instead, these skills must be taught, practiced, and reinforced through structured experiences like simulation.
  
Overall, the article supports the idea that simulation-based education can be a powerful tool for preparing healthcare providers to navigate difficult conversations, advocate for inclusivity, and deliver patient-centered care in diverse clinical settings.
  
Read the article HERE
  
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
  
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

“It’s not suited for everyone”: Fatigue in Standardized Patients and Its Impact on Assessment—An International Multiple-method Study

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jun
12

Lead Author: Zakia Dimassi, MD, MHPE, CHSE
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

Dimassi et al surveyed SPs in the US and the UAE, recruited through social media and direct requests for assistance from “leaders in healthcare simulation and SP program directors.” 123 SPs completed the survey, self-assessing “their levels of cognitive, physical, and emotional fatigue following simulated encounters.” As the authors describe their results: “Fatigue ensued within 36 minutes and was highest emotionally, then cognitively, and then physically. Psychiatric and anxious roles were most fatiguing. Satisfaction with break duration lowered fatigue across domains. Non-medical background raised cognitive fatigue; older age and South/Southeast Asian ethnicity increased physical fatigue; female gender increased emotional fatigue; > 10 years’ experience reduced fatigue. Two thirds perceived impaired assessment accuracy.” The authors break down the responses into themes of scheduling/organization, nature of SP work, and mitigation.
 
Read the full article in the [Clinical Simulation in Nursing]
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Pre-roling: An Operational Framework for Facilitators and Simulating Participants (SPs) to Prepare for Both Acting and Educating Safely

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Jun
12

Lead Author: Casper Danholt Iuul
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

Noting that “[w]hen facilitators and SPs are not aligned the quality of simulations may become uneven, which in turn can reduce the learning potential for learners,” Iuul et al created a pre-roling framework to guide SPs and facilitators through five “analytically distinct aspects of simulation performance — meaning (educational purpose), narrative (intended course of events), style (tone, tempo), character (the portrayed person), and health professions education (clinical picture, learning environment, task distribution, and care for the SP).” As they explain their intention: “we propose to look at scenario-based simulations as a matter of meaning, narrative, style, and character to enable a more explicit dialogue between facilitator and SP about expectations to the scenario.”
 
In the article, they explain what led to the framework’s creation, describe the tool, and discuss how they found that it “can reduce dissonance between SPs and facilitators, enhance the coherence of dramaturgical and educational intentions, improve learners’ experiential learning opportunities, and help prevent distress among SPs.” Supplementary materials include both the two-sided card they provided their SPs and facilitators, for use as a checklist, and a pre-roling sheet for documenting the five aspects for a given simulation for later reference.
 
Read the full article in the [Advances in Simulation]
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Your People Are In Here: A Look Inside ASPE’s Special Interest Groups

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Apr
14

By: Renee Wadsworth
Submitted by: Renee Wadsworth, SP-ed

What does it look like when a group of simulation professionals finds its people? For many ASPE members, the answer lies inside a Special Interest Group — or SIG. On April 8, ASPE’s Communication and Connections Committee hosted “SIGs in Action: Tools, Resources, and Community,” a panel featuring six SIG leaders who shared what their groups do, why they exist, and what they hope to build. Facilitated by Dan Brown (Emory University) and Towanda Underdue (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine), the conversation was warm, specific, and — above all — energizing.
 
Each panelist was asked the same question: what gap is your SIG filling, and how are your members filling it? The answers were as different as the communities themselves — and together, they made a compelling case that whatever corner of this field you care about most, there’s a SIG for that.
 

Meet the SIGs

Hybrid Simulation SIG — Carol Fleishman, Johns Hopkins


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Difficult Conversations: Navigating Intimate Partner Violence with Standardized Patients

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Apr
14

Lead Author: Priyanka Parameswaran
Submitted by: Amy Rush, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sixteen medical students participated in a didactic learning intervention about recognizing and addressing intimate partner violence (IPV), followed by a standardized patient session. Students filled out a seven-question survey before and after the session that assessed comfort addressing IPV, discussing resources, and practicing trauma-informed care.
 
The study concluded that student preparedness and comfort addressing IPV increased.
 
The article highlighted how a majority of medical students and surgical trainees studied believed their education on IPV was inadequate. Medical students struggled even more than surgical residents with barriers to addressing IPV, including lack of time, lack of knowledge of resources, and personal discomfort in addressing IPV. While nearly all medical students had little or no prior IPV training, 80% indicated a desire for increased IPV education. The purpose of this study was to assess whether there were gaps in current medical school curricula with regards to learning how to care for survivors of IPV, and to identify an intervention that will teach students the skills needed to care for patients impacted by IPV.
 
The authors hypothesized that participation in a 2-hour learning experience that combined didactic and hands-on instruction could effectively teach students how to recognize, screen for, and respond to patients who are survivors of IPV. This article is a proof-of-concept paper that demonstrates the ease with which IPV education can be integrated in existing medical school curricula.
 
Read the full article in [The American Journal of Surgery] [hyperlink].
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

From Simulation to Conversation: Simulated Patients’ Contribution to Meaningful Feedback Dialogues

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Apr
14

Authors: Annelies Lovink, Karlijn Geelkerken, Heleen Miedema, Jan-Joost Rethans, Walther van Mook, Marleen Groenier
By: Miranda Powell, AS, CHSE, University of South Alabama

The Study at a Glance
 
Standardized patients (SPs) have long been a key component of healthcare education, particularly in developing communication skills. The article by Annelies Lovink, Karlijn Geelkerken, Heleen Miedema, Jan-Joost Rethans, Walther van Mook, and Marleen Groenier focuses on what happens after the simulation, specifically during feedback conversations. The study examines how SPs contribute to meaningful feedback dialogues and how those interactions influence student learning. Rather than viewing SPs as passive participants, the research explores their active role in shaping feedback and guiding reflection.
 
Key Findings
One of the main findings is that SPs play an active role in feedback sessions. They help guide students on task performance, structure the conversation, and create opportunities for reflection. This shows that SPs are not just portraying a role but are functioning as educators within the learning process.
 
The study also found that SPs shift between different positions during feedback. While they may begin in the patient role, they often move into perspectives such as an expert or a reflective guide. These shifts allow students to receive more comprehensive feedback, especially in areas related to communication and interpersonal skills.
 
Another key finding is the balance SPs must maintain during feedback. While providing guidance can support student learning, too much direction may limit a student’s ability to reflect and think critically. This highlights the importance of intentional and well-structured feedback approaches.
 
Implications on Healthcare Education
 
This study reinforces the idea that feedback is just as important as the simulation itself. It highlights the need for SP programs to place greater emphasis on training SPs not only for case portrayal but also for facilitating effective feedback conversations.
 
For healthcare education, this means recognizing SPs as active contributors to learning rather than just participants in simulation scenarios. Programs may need to invest more in SP development, particularly in communication, feedback techniques, and role flexibility.
 
Overall, the findings suggest a shift in perspective from focusing solely on simulation performance to valuing the feedback dialogue as a critical component of student learning. Strengthening this aspect of SP programs can enhance learner reflection, improve communication skills, and better prepare students for real clinical interactions.
 
Read the full article HERE
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Beyond Frameworks: An Interpretive Description of Engaging in Debriefer Feedback Conversations

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
Tags
Apr
14
By: Heather C. Epp, PhD, MN, RN, CHSE
Submitted by: Marsha Harman, Rush Center for Clinical Skills and Simulation
 
As SP Educators, we train SPs to give feedback to learners. But how do we give feedback on feedback?  This article describes an institution’s development of a system to offer feedback to the faculty who lead debriefs. It identifies 4 themes of effective debriefer feedback, including: (1) establishing and maintaining a relational culture, (2) embracing a growth mindset, (3) creating a safe space for self-reflection, and (4) remaining objective and goal oriented.
 
While the article describes debriefing with clinical faculty, I think many of the principles could be applied to debriefing with SPs and other colleagues.
 
Read the full article in Simulation in Healthcare here.
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Simulation-Based Trauma-Informed Care Education Instills Empathy and Improves Clinician Practices Towards Refugee and Migrant Populations

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Mar
13

By: Medha Palnati
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

This timely article describes a study on teaching medical students and residents to incorporate trauma-informed care (TIC) into their practice with refugee and migrant patients, “shifting the narrative from ‘What is wrong with you?’ to ‘What has happened to you?’” As the authors describe the stakes: “Refugee and migrant communities carry histories wrought with trauma. These traumas and trauma-related responses often contribute to feelings of mistrust towards Western health care systems and can additionally foster negative clinician biases (conscious or unconscious) and attitudes towards these communities. Consequently, clinicians often fail to uncover underlying causes of poor health and distress for their refugee and migrant patients.”
  
Palnati et al. developed a workshop using “first-person case-based learning to encourage clinicians to consider the decisions someone experiencing forced-displacement might endure.” The results show that their “tool positively influenced students’ and residents’ knowledge and attitudes regarding TIC and displaced peoples, and learners expressed greater willingness to incorporate TIC into clinical practice (p < .001). Additionally, residents self-reported percentage increases in behaviors that promote equitable care for refugee and migrant patients 6 months postintervention.”
  
Read the full article in the [MedEdPORTAL] [https://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11475].
  
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
  
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Practice Makes Perfect: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations Across the UME-to-GME Continuum Improve Care of Transgender Simulated Patients

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Mar
13

Lead Author: Christine P. Beltran
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

Beltran et al. note barriers to care faced by transgender patients, including “limited physician experience and training.” While educational activities to “help clinicians gain comfort and skills in caring for transgender patients” are available, the authors note, “(r)esearch suggests that longitudinal and integrated transgender health education improves learner skill and comfort, activates learners’ desire for more practice, and communicates that providing gender-affirming care is important and valued.” To investigate “whether and how exposure to transgender health skills during medical school impacted trainees’ competency in this area during residency,” they compared performance in an OSCE station with a transgender patient by two groups: residents who had participated as students in an exercise with a transgender SP (“continuum residents”) and residents who had not had that experience (“noncontinuum residents”).
  
Results showed “notable differences” between the groups: “(c)ontinuum residents, compared to noncontinuum residents, exhibited better performance on the domains of case-specific information gathering, gender-affirming care skills, and global ratings. Furthermore, continuum residents’ greater experience and comfort in this area was highlighted by the fact that their noncontinuum counterparts exclusively received SP feedback about their lack of experience and comfort.” Nonetheless, “(r)esidents across both groups described having few prior clinical encounters with transgender patients and described how the case increased their comfort and preparation for caring for transgender patients.” 
Read the full article in the [Journal of Graduate Medical Education] [https://jgme.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/jgme/16/2/article-p182.xml?isSearch=true k]. 
  
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
  
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Enhancing Simulation Fidelity in Occupational Therapy Education: Considerations for Standardized Patient Training and Implementation

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
Tags
Mar
13

Lead Author: John V. Rider
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners

According to Rider et al., the use of SPs is increasing in occupational therapy (OT) education, but “implementing high-fidelity simulation in OT education varies broadly across programs and generally remains underutilized”; when it is used, “the implementation of simulation varies across programs, leading to inconsistent outcomes and research limitations.” Their article “aims to provide OT educators with considerations for improving simulation fidelity by effectively using highly trained SPs.” The authors note that, “(w)hile studies do exist reporting the use and perception of SPs in OT education, little is written and shared on training SPs.” To rectify this, they describe the history of SPs and discuss standards in SP training, citing ASPE’s SOBPs. They then discuss incorporation of SPs into OT education specifically.
 
Read the full article in the [Journal of Occupational Therapy Education] [https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol8/iss1/15/].
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

IMSH 2026 Keynote Speaker – Tania Katan

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Feb
20

By: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I had the pleasure of attending the IMSH 2026 conference. The kickoff plenary, The Chad Epps Keynote Speaker, is always special and inspiring, like its namesake. Tania Katan is a transformational speaker, award-winning author and “innovation expert”. She uses her background of theatre (sound familiar to anyone?) to electrify audiences with comedy, storytelling and motivation. In her book Creative Trespassing, she urges us to bring more creativity, playfulness and joy into spaces to propel innovation. These are skills we need in any industry. She encouraged us to think of a new job title based on what we actually do that enlivens is. When brainstorming with my neighbors, we came up with titles like “Feedback Magician” and “Debrief Doula”. She had us start the session by creating a raucous standing ovation as a motivational technique. It should be no surprise that her presentation ended in the same way, without her prompting it.
   
Read more about Tania’s work here.
  
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
  
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

What Having a Fake Disease Taught Me About Health Care

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
Tags
Feb
20

By David H. Freedman
Submitted by: Kerensa Peterson, University of California, Riverside

You have probably seen the Seinfeld episode. You know the one. Or you have read the Empathy Exams. Or you know you have an extremely interesting conversation starter at a social occasion when you meet someone new who asks you, “What do you do for work?” Many people have tried to put into words what it is that Simulated Participants do. Mr. Freedman explores his work as a Standardized Patient at the University of Massachusetts and what it means to him personally, as well as what it means to the learners he interacts with, and the future patients of those learners.
 
Read the full article in The Atlantic.
 
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
 
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Assessing ChatGPT's Capability as a New Age Standardized Patient: Qualitative Study

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
Tags
Feb
20

By: Joseph Cross, et al
Submitted by: Marsha Harman, Rush Center for Clinical Skills and Simulation

This article offers a snapshot of the advantages and disadvantages of using ChatGPT as a virtual SP and ultimately concludes it can be an effective supplement to, but not a replacement for, working with human SPs.
 
This study aims to assess medical students' perceptions and experiences of using ChatGPT as an SP and to evaluate ChatGPT's effectiveness in performing as a virtual SP in a medical school setting.Students were observed during a live role-play, interacting with ChatGPT as an SP using a predetermined prompt. A structured 15-question survey was administered before and after the interaction. Despite some limitations, students found ChatGPT as a valuable supplement to traditional SPs, enhancing practice flexibility and diagnostic skills. The authors conclude that ChatGPT can effectively augment traditional SPs in medical education, offering accessible, flexible practice opportunities. However, it cannot fully replace human SPs due to limitations in verisimilitude and prompt engineering challenges. Integrating prompt engineering into medical curricula and continuous advancements in AI are recommended to enhance the use of virtual SPs.
 
Read the full article in JMIR Medical Education here.
  
Communications and Connections Committee Mission: “To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”
  
Please provide comments, questions or suggestions about the ASPE eNews Blog here.

Navigating professional identities: nursing faculty as embedded simulation participants in medical student simulations

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
Feb
04

Lead Author: Shelley Walker
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, NBOME

As Walker et al note: “Nursing trained faculty often work as embedded simulated participants (ESPs) in interprofessional simulations. Blending and switching their professional identities as educators, nurses, and role players in ESP roles can be challenging. How they balance tensions in their role portrayal is poorly understood. New and experienced faculty may benefit from clearer guidance about how to approach this task.” They used a descriptive phenomenological approach, performing semi-structured interviews with nine nurse ESPs. As the authors describe their findings: “The results of our study align with current ESP role descriptions in the literature, such as providing guidance, adding realism, and fostering psychological safety. However, we have revealed a much deeper and more layered experience of the nursing ESP role with significant tensions, complex and nuanced decision making when ‘in role’ and positive effects on other clinical roles.”

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Quality of Refractive Error Care in Cambodia: An Unannounced Standardized Patient Study

by: Kaylee Chester
Category: E-News
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Feb
04

Lead Author: Anthea Burnett
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, NBOME

The authors used unannounced standardized patients (USPs) to evaluate “the quality of refractive error care in Cambodia by estimating the proportion of prescribed and dispensed spectacles appropriate for people’s refractive error needs and factors associated with spectacle quality.” While much of the article focuses on the scientific aspects of the study, the authors also describe some of their methodology and general findings. As USPs, they recruited 18 adults with refractive error within specified ranges. These USPs underwent three days of in-person training and evaluation before beginning the study. Each USP visited 23-45 optical services, with each service visited by 1-5 USPs (60% of them by 5). At these visits, the USP would observe testing procedures, evaluate the clinician’s communication skills, and, depending on the clinician’s recommendation, purchase a pair of glasses. Research optometrists later examined the glasses for appropriateness for the USP. One intriguing finding: “44% of USPs who didn’t need glasses were prescribed them, with women being more likely to receive unnecessary prescriptions than men.”

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