KCU’s simulated patient program benefits future generation of doctors | News
Amy Pyatt, of Joplin, never pictured herself becoming an actress, but her part-time job posing as a sick patient at Kansas City University-Joplin has helped dozens of medical students gain experience.
Pyatt works as a simulated patient for KCU-Joplin, which offers the part-time gig to community members who are either full-blown actors or looking to make a difference.
With the program, first- and second-year medical students can develop physician-patient communication skills with a live person rather than a mannequin. It allows the students to practice rapport building and clinical skills while also receiving immediate feedback.
The “mock” scenarios feature simulated patients who have an illness or injury, and the students serve as doctors. Each actor memorizes lines, and students must determine their diagnosis through a series of questions.
“They’ll do a physical exam based on their findings, and write up their notes,” said Katie Moore, simulation education manager. “Then they come back in, and we give them feedback on how they did with interpersonal skills. They’re given a checklist of things that they need to hit through the encounter, but we also have a separate checklist that focuses on bedside manner.”
Pyatt has been a simulated patient since KCU opened its Joplin campus in 2017.
“I’ve always liked medicine, and I thought it would be fun to portray a patient,” she said. “It sounded exciting. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I work with students of all different backgrounds, and it’s neat to see everyone who comes through. These same students are going to be taking care of me, my children and my grandchildren. I want to make sure that they’re doing their best.”
Last week, Pyatt acted as a patient with a racing heart and sat on an exam table wearing a hospital gown. Tevon Brooks, a first-year KCU student, served as her doctor in the scenario. Outfitted in his white lab coat, Brooks asked Pyatt a series of questions about her symptoms, pain level and family medical background.
“It’s been a very interesting experience, and it’s been very rewarding as well,” Brooks said about the program. “It’s taking what we’ve learned in the textbook and then putting it into the field.”
The simulated patient program is offered to all KCU students, allowing them to work on their bedside manner and build confidence with patient communication. Pyatt said Brooks was thorough during the scenario.
“He was very good,” she said. “He was gentle whenever he did the physical exam, and he was empathetic.”
John Paulson, primary care department chair at KCU-Joplin, said they use the simulation department to help students put together what they’ve learned and apply it to becoming a doctor. He described it as being similar to a flight simulator in that if the plane crashes, no one gets hurt.
“When we get students ready to go to the hospital, doctors over there want to make sure that they’re smart, confident and can do the skills it takes to be a physician,” he said. “Patients want doctors to have a good bedside manner, and this is our best tool for training them on that.”
Paulson said students participate in the simulation program about once a month and have four a semester. The simulated patient can provide the student with immediate feedback and help them understand their strengths or weaknesses.
Students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the KCU simulation program. Over the years, Pyatt has pretended to have rashes, heart issues, stomach problems, bad ankles and migraines. She said her experience as a simulated patient can also be directed into her own life as a mom.
“My son had stomach problems, and it was in the same area as his appendix,” she said. “I did the same specialty test that they do on us to see if he had appendicitis. He didn’t.”
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