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ERIC Number: EJ1066034
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1947-380X
EISSN: N/A
Standardized Patient Encounters Improved Athletic Training Students' Confidence in Clinical Evaluations
Armstrong, Kirk J.; Jarriel, Amanda J.
Athletic Training Education Journal, v10 n2 p113-121 Apr-Jun 2015
Context: Researchers have reported that interacting with standardized patients (SPs) is a worthwhile and realistic experience for athletic training (AT) students. These encounters enhance students' interviewing skills, confidence as a clinician, clinical skill development, and interpersonal communication. Objective: To determine how SP encounters impacted students' confidence in performing clinical evaluations. Design: Pretest-posttest survey design. Setting: Athletic training simulation lab. Patients or Other Participants: Thirty-five students from the junior (n = 20) and senior (n = 15) AT cohorts from a public liberal arts institution in the Southeast. Intervention(s): Athletic training students completed 2 SP encounters per semester throughout an academic year in the AT program, totaling 4 SP encounters. Main Outcome Measure(s): Each student completed a 17-item Likert scale (1 = "strongly disagree," 5 = "strongly agree") that rated confidence levels immediately before and after each SP encounter. The confidence rating assessed students' confidence regarding how the SP encounter affected their confidence in completing patient evaluations (eg, identifying history questions, interpreting results of special tests). We computed descriptive statistics for all items Wilcoxon signed rank tests determined differences in pre-encounter and should be postencounter confidence ratings. Results: Overall, students from both cohorts reported that the SP encounter improved confidence in completing clinical evaluations. Specifically, students reported a significant increase from pre-encounter to postencounter confidence ratings after nutrition-based (Z = -2.991, P = 0.004), knee (Z = -3.261, P = 0.001), concussion (Z = -3.294, P = 0.001), psychosocial intervention (Z = -3.062, P = 0.002), and general medical (Z = -3.524, P > 0.001) SP encounters. Conclusions: The authenticity and fidelity of the SP encounter provided the AT students a real-time clinical evaluation in a nonthreatening environment. Students reported that their confidence improved after each encounter. By providing these experiences, AT students can become comfortable interacting with patients in clinical evaluations.
National Athletic Trainers' Association. 2952 Stemmons Freeway Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75247. Tel: 214-637-6282; Fax: 214-637-2206; e-mail: ATEdJournal@gmail.com; Web site: http://nataej.org/journal-information.htm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A