Translation of Standardized Patient Encounter Performance and Reflection to Clinical Practice

Context Standardized patient (SP) encounters have been incorporated into many healthcare education programs, including professional athletic training programs, yet there is little exploration about the use of SP encounters in postprofessional programs and continuing education opportunities. Objective To explore athletic trainers' translation of skills and reflections in clinical practice after an SP encounter and debriefing session. Design Qualitative action research. Setting One-on-one interview. Patients or Other Participants Fifteen learners from the same postprofessional athletic training degree program (males = 3, females = 12; age = 25 ± 5 years; certified experience = 3 ± 3 years) without previous SP experience participated in this study. All learners had to be employed full or part-time in a clinical setting. Main Outcome Measure(s) Sixty days after an SP encounter related to patient-centered care during an orthopedic evaluation and subsequent debriefing session, participants completed an online, audio-only interview after a 10-question, semistructured interview protocol. A 3-person primary coding team identified domains and categories using the consensual qualitative research tradition. Results Three main domains emerged from the study: (1) limitations of a novice SP experience, (2) practice transformation, and (3) promoting self-reflection. Participants reported that the initial SP encounter in their postprofessional education was a new experience through which they were able to implement new skills learned in their previous courses. Translation of newly learned ideas or ways of thinking to clinical practice varied among clinicians and their job settings. Collaborative thinking and self-reflection were key components. Participants were able to identify with their classmates' struggles and triumphs and to take away new learning experiences. Conclusions SP encounters are a useful instructional and assessment technique for athletic trainers in a postprofessional athletic training degree program to promote self-reflection and to translate newly learned skills to their clinical practice, while nerves and anxiety influenced the learners' ability to suspend reality.