Abstract
Standardized patients (SPs), people who have been trained to simulate or represent a medical condition in a standardized way, are commonly used in medical education. However, considerable effort is required to maintain a panel of SPs and trained evaluators. We conducted a study using the Access Grid advanced videoconferencing system and the Internet2 high performance research and education network at a hospital in Hawaii with medical residents and a medical school in New Mexico with an SP programme. After receiving one didactic presentation and written material about smoking cessation, three residents in Hawaii each counselled an SP in New Mexico via the Access Grid. One evaluator was located in New Mexico at an Access Grid node. Two evaluators were located in Hawaii, one in the same room as the residents, and one connected via the Access Grid. Evaluators scored the learners using 11 criteria. Student and SP feedback and inter-rater reliability among evaluators were good. Teaching and evaluating interviewing skills appear to be feasible using the Access Grid. Wider implementation of the technique will require considerable technical, logistical and curriculum coordination among participating sites.
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