Simulation Program for Clinical Performance Improvement
Improving clinical care and patient safety through simulation
Baylor College of Medicine's Simulation Program for Clinical Performance Improvement trains qualified individuals to teach and evaluate medical students, residents, and others in a simulation lab setting. It can be used for teaching and testing a variety of skills for not only students but residents, practicing physicians, nurses, etc... Our Standardized Patients, or SPs, go through a rigorous training process that prepares them for "performances," which we call their scripted interactions with the students.
How it all started...
Baylor College of Medicine's Standardized Patient Program started in the Family Community Medicine Clerkship. The OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam) started from a grant provided through various funding agencies in 1989. The CPX (Clinical performance Exam) also started much like the OSCE through a grant in 1991. For the CPX exam, BCM originally hired SPs from UTMB to travel to Houston. BCM started buying cases from other schools and later developed their own case portfolio. Baylor College of Medicine has now acquired between 50-75 standardized patients and created over 40 cases used in student exams.
Over the years, BCM developed a data collecting system leading to presentations and publications on the findings of humanism, correlation between attitudes and performance, and predictors of career choice.
The Clinical Performance Laboratory was funded in 1992 through a grant from various agencies and totaled over $325,000. The lab is named in honor of Claire Huckins, former Senior Associate Dean, who was responsible for BCM's Standardized Patient and Simulation Program grant funding. Students continue to use the simulation lab on a regular basis. It has come to serve a vital part in medical education.