Simulated Patients in the Education of Occupational Therapy Students

Abstract

This paper discusses the evolvement of using simulated patients in the education of health professionals. Specifically it adresses the viability of using volunteers to simulate patients with psycho-social disorders in teaching and evaluating interview skills and techniques with occupational therapy students. Included is a general discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing simulated patients in an educational setting. The arrangements and teaching process necessary to train a simulated psychiatric patient are also presented.