Monash School of Rural Health faces shortage of simulated patient actor for medical student exams

Medical schools are facing a shortage of "simulated patients" who fake entire medical histories and symptoms to help assess the diagnostic skills of medical students.

As exams loom Catherine Haigh, the director of Gippsland's Monash School of Rural Health, is concerned about the reduced number of actors to perform as patients.

"We used to have a bank of 150 simulated patients and we continuously recruited more," she said.

"We used a variety of recruitment techniques — going to drama groups, newspaper advertisements etc.

"We now have a much-reduced bank — about 80 on our list but only about 20 on our books."

'Community service' acting

Jeanette Teague works casually as a simulated patient at Monash Rural Health's Churchill campus. 

"It's a community service in some respects. Those students need that interaction, that practice, that feedback from their lecturers," she said. 

While the situation has been satirised in sit-coms such as Seinfeld, Ms Teague says the characters she portrays require standard medical procedures.

"The whole scheme is not there to trick the students, it's to give them that real-life practice," she said.

Both Ms Teague and her partner John find the simulations valuable to encourage a sympathetic approach to patients.

"It's not just learning anatomy, diagnosis and all those other things. It's also about what we commonly call bedside manner," she said. 

Teaching 'real' skills

Gippsland general practitioner Camille Jeffries says having exams with real people means medical students learns the practical skills they need to be a doctor.

"They're pretty nerve-racking examinations. It's a really good skill for real-life medicine," she said.

"I have a lot of fond memories with my fellow students at the time, practising for these exams.

"We'd poke and prod each other and ask each other all the questions."

Dr Jeffries said while the simulated patients were useful, medical students missed out on having interactions with real patients.

"The most important bit is actually going into a hospital or a clinic with real patients because that's where you get the nuances of those skills," she said.

People interested in being a simulated patient should contact Monash Rural Health at rural.health@monash.edu