Baldwin Wallace University nursing student Danielle Barsa, left, interacts with student actors Nelia Rose Holley and Ava Spinelli Mastrone during a standardized patient program simulation. (Photo Courtesy of Baldwin Wallace University)
BEREA, Ohio -- A collaborative effort between the Baldwin Wallace University Nursing Department and the Department of Theatre and Dance is enabling students to use their medical knowledge and role-playing abilities to achieve a goal of higher, more impactful learning.
The standardized patient program (SP) combines controlled medical scenarios, acted out by theatre and dance students, with hands-on nursing student interactions.
If the nursing student encounters a problem while responding to the “patient,” participants can stop, discuss the issue with the instructor, determine an alternate action, then reinforce that solution by restarting the simulation.
BWU’s standardized patient program has been in existence for almost a year, debuting last fall.
“The unique part is the actor, performing as the patient, can respond differently, or ad-lib, based on the healthcare provider’s actions or responses,” Chris Seminatore, assistant professor of nursing and Nursing Skills Lab coordinator, told cleveland.com.
“So, it doesn’t always play out the same way, but there are objectives you want to achieve. There are key pieces of information about the patient that stay the same, no matter what.”
Communication is a key component, Seminatore emphasized. He said the theatre and dance faculty sometimes notices things the nursing student did during the simulation that perhaps he did not, such as body language cues, a voice projection issue or other subtle mannerisms a patient could misconstrue.
“It’s a great collaborative way to give students a chance to learn and refine their skills,” Seminatore said about the program, noting that future plans are to include the physician’s assistant program in the simulations.
“The students provide us with feedback and deserve a lot of credit for helping us adjust the program to improve it.”
Heidi Harris, adjunct professor with the BWU acting faculty, has been an SP and trainer at the Cleveland Clinic.
“It was one of the most fulfilling jobs as an actor I’ve ever had, because the immediate feedback is really important,” Harris recalled. “The SP work is so meaningful.
“We’re helping these medical students practice their skills with people in a very safe environment,” she added. “If they mess up, we have do-overs. You don’t get that in real life.”
She hopes students absorb “the real power involved in connecting to another person.”
“It makes you a better human,” Harris said. “If you’re able to walk around, regardless of your vocation, and be more genuinely concerned and connected with people, it can’t help but make the world, and the community, a better place.”
Go to bw.edu for more information, or contact Heidi Harris at hharris@bw.edu or Chris Seminatore at cseminat@bw.edu.
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