Teaching Students the Art of Working with Patients with Cognitive Impairments: A Comparison between the Use of Standardized Patients vs a One-time Clinical Experience
By: Shaun Varrecchia and Carol A. Maritz
Submitted by: Marsha Harman, Rush Center for Clinical Skills and Simulation

Working with individuals with cognitive impairment can be an uncomfortable experience for students in the health professions. One-time clinical experiences are a common strategy in Physical Therapy programs, but the authors note that the variability among different clinical sites in terms of the patients seen and the assessments the students are allowed to perform means that educational outcomes vary widely. This article describes a study comparing the outcomes associated with a Standardized Patient encounter versus one-time clinical experience. Overall, when comparing the SP encounter to the one-time clinical experience, faculty found that the SP experience was more pedagogically sound.

Read the full article in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation here. 

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