title: Teaching patient selection in aesthetic surgery: use of the standardized patient.
abstract: This study evaluates the effectiveness of standardized patients for teaching patient selection in esthetic surgery. Six actors received detailed character descriptions. Each was interviewed by a resident for 30 minutes in a conference setting. Participants completed a questionnaire, and a discussion was held. Written simulations were administered before and after the sessions, from which a faculty standard was developed using hierarchical cluster analysis. Resident responses were compared with the standard using a squared euclidean metric. Residents' pre- and posttest scores were compared with the faculty standard using 2-way analysis of variance. Accuracy scores were found to be significantly lower (more accurate) after the training than before (P < 0.001). Upon a 6-item questionnaire, both faculty and residents agreed that it was a worthwhile exercise (faculty mean, 6.2 out of 7; resident, 6.3) and that the standardized patients were believable. Standardized patients can provide effective instruction in traditionally difficult-to-teach areas such as communication and patient selection.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0284, USA. brink2@email.uky.edu
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rinker
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donnelly
authors.forename: Henry C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Vasconez
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018579:Patient Selection; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*