Standardized Patient Program

Mission Statement

The University of Massachusetts Medical School Standardized Patient Program was established in 1982. Standardized patients are lay people trained to simulate certain medical conditions in a realistic and consistent fashion. They are also trained to act effectively as evaluators and teachers of medical students, physician assistant candidates, nursing students, residents, and practicing clinicians. They are able to document an examiner's performance, and provide written and verbal feedback in a positive and non-threatening setting. The purpose can range from pure education to primarily an evaluation instrument for the assessment of communication and clinical competence.

The utilization of the UMass Standardized Patient as an evaluative and instructional tool has evolved as an integral and mandatory component in all four years of the medical school curriculum. For nearly 20 years, UMass SPs have been respected and in demand at New England regional medical schools as skilled teachers and evaluators of the complete physical exam as well as the female breast, pelvic and male genitourinary exams. Multi-station OSCE's (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) utilizing Standardized Patients as subjects have become the assessment instrument of choice because of its proven reliability. The Program has also moved beyond the realm of UMass and currently provides its academic services to most New England regional medical schools, area hospitals, HMO's and academic nursing and physician assistant programs, and a veterinary school. More recently, the Program has made inroads as active participants in community education workshops, CME and GME courses, and has been a pilot site for the National Board of Medical Examiners standardized patient exam which will be a future required component for medical licensure. The Program has brought national recognition to the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and serves as a gold standard and model for standardized patient programs throughout the world.

Facility/Location

Worcester Foundation Campus   (click here for directions)
Hoaglund - Pincus Conference Center/lower level
222 Maple Avenue
Shrewsbury, MA 01545

Listing of Faculty and Staff

Wendy L. Gammon, M.A., M.Ed., Program Director and Trainer
Linda Tupper, Program Administrator
Pam Peper, Administrative Assistant

Contact Us

Pam Peper: (508) 856-0077

Project Highlights

The Standardized Patient Assessment Site has state-of-the-art clinic rooms with closed-circuit monitoring and videotaping capability, small group/break-out session rooms, and a Clinical Skills Lab offering the student a multi-media approach for self-tutorial and remediation exercises.