Assessment of Clinical Skills of Residents Utilizing Standardized Patients

Abstract

Systematic and effective procedures for developing standardized-patient-based test materials and for training standardized patients have been developed. This technique is best used for measuring data gathering and interviewing skills. Correlations with commonly used evaluation methods were generally low; this may be because standardized patients measure different skills. Local use of this technique by residency programs and the development of regional consortia sharing resources, costs, and expertise are advocated.