Simulated patient
Also known as standardised patient · simulated participant · role player
A person trained to portray a patient, relative or carer realistically and consistently, so learners can practise and be assessed on clinical and communication skills.
Simulated patients may be professional actors or trained lay people, and many give structured feedback from the patient's point of view. They are widely used in OSCEs and communication teaching, where consistency matters because every candidate should meet the same presentation.
The term also appears in regulation: the GMC notes that some procedures in Outcomes for graduates will have been performed during medical school on a simulated patient or manikin rather than on a real patient.
Where this term is used
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