O32 Simulated patients in assessment: rationale, scope, responsibilities and ethical considerations

Simulated patients (SPs) are people trained to consistently portray a patient or other individual in a scripted scenario for the purposes of instruction, practice, or evaluation. SPs may also participate in teaching and assessment and provide feedback to learners. They have particular value in providing feedback on issues related to patient-centeredness. SPs can be trained to standardise their performance, to provide a consistent and accurate presentation over time and between learners. SPs offer the human element in examination questions for performance-based assessments (Nestel & Bearman, 2015). They act as a proxy for real patients; representing the patient, rather than clinician perspectives. By involving SPs in assessments, examiners have the opportunity to offer realistic, patient-centred experiences to learners. Embedding SPs in assessments contributes positively to the development of safe, patient-centred healthcare practice (Nestel & Bearman, 2015).