Patient Actor- Simulation Center

Mountain Area Health Education Center - MAHEC•Champaign, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

A Patient Actor or Standardized Patient (SP) is a person who has been coached to accurately and consistently recreate the history, personality, physical findings, and emotional structure and response pattern of an actual patient at a particular point in time. SPs are interviewed and examined by both male and female healthcare learners and may be audio or videotaped during simulation. SPs will be trained by an assigned educator for a given case on standardized role portrayal and scoring in order to each learner with a similar experience for practice and assessment. During teaching or assessment activities SPs should expect that the learner may interview, counsel, and/or perform noninvasive physical exams. These simulated patient encounters are designed to enable experiential learning by offering learners the opportunity to develop, practice and enhance their medical interviewing skills, communication skills, and physical exam techniques.

Requirements

High School Diploma or equivalent
Ability to improvise, adapt to highly dynamic environments, and learn new skills
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Good memory and recall skills
Reliable, punctual and dependable
Valid driver’s license required

Nice To Haves

Acting experience is a plus but not required
Healthcare background

Responsibilities

Memorize a case script detailing specific emotions, behaviors, and disease signs/symptoms for presentation during simulated learning situations
Present case information in a standardized manner, as elicited by healthcare students during simulated interactive patient history and/or medical examinations
Remain in a specific patient character as trained when responding to student questions
Accurately and consistently remember encounters with students for the purpose of scoring student behaviors with standardized checklists
Maintain confidentiality of information related to cases, student behaviors, and feedback evaluations
Provides constructive verbal and written feedback within a structured format
Work in a professional manner when interacting with learners, faculty, supervisors, and peers
Accept ongoing feedback from facilitators and incorporate into case simulation
Be willing to be audio and videotaped during simulations
Adapt to quick changes and work in a dynamic environment