Current Uses of Simulation and Standardized Patients in Athletic Training Education: Uses for Teaching and Assessment and Barriers to Use

Abstract

Context Simulations and standardized patient encounters (SPEs) have been increasingly used in professional athletic training programs. Recently they also have been identified as a mechanism to assess curricular content standards. Objective To investigate how professional athletic training programs use simulations and SPEs for teaching and assessment, and barriers preventing use of these techniques. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Electronic survey. Patients or Other Participants Forty-three professional program directors completed the survey, representing programs for doctoral, master’s, and baccalaureate institutions. Data Collection and Analysis The survey consisted of 8 demographic questions, 3 items regarding the frequency of using simulations and SPEs, 2 items regarding barriers to use, 1 item examining faculty collaborators and administrative release time, and 4 open-ended questions regarding additional uses and barriers. Cronbach α determined internal consistency, α = 0.891 to 0.911. Descriptive statistics were computed for all items. Results Most respondents used simulations and SPEs for teaching and assessment. Simulation use occurred most in the curricular content areas of nonorthopaedic evaluation (n = 40, 97.6%), emergency care and life-threatening injuries (n = 38, 95.0%), and orthopaedic evaluation (n = 36, 87.8%). Regarding SPEs, use occurred most in the curricular content areas of orthopaedic evaluation (n = 32, 76.2%), nonorthopaedic evaluation (n = 32, 76.2%), and emergency care and life-threatening injuries (n = 28, 66.7%). Overall, a lack of faculty knowledge (4.40 ± 0.989), faculty time (4.36 ± 0.727), and financial resources for implementation (4.24 ± 1.100) were identified as barriers to use. Conclusions Though simulations and standardized patients provide opportunities for engagement in real-time patient encounters in a safe learning environment, many educators still perceive a lack of evidence to support their use for teaching and assessment. Athletic training educators should seek mechanisms to increase the use of these techniques, as their use is important for preparing students for professional practice.