Standardized patients versus simulated patients in medical education: are they the same or different

Abstract

In order to equip medical students with all the necessary skills in dealing with patients to provide optimal treatment, the need for the use of real patients in educational settings has become prominent. But all the required skills cannot be practiced on real patients due to patients' safety and well-being. Thus, the use of standardized patients (SPs) or simulated patients (SiPs) as a substitute for real patients signifies their importance in simulation-based medical education. One question raised in regard to using SPs or SiPs in order to enhance medical students' tangible and intangible skills in a safe controlled environment is whether these two terminologies are the same or different? Various studies use these terms interchangeably and do not consider a difference between them. Based on our literature review, there seems to be differences between these two modalities. We also try to highlight the advantages of these modalities in clinical encounters.