The effect of using standardized patients or peer role play on ratings of undergraduate communication training: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives

Considering the expense of standardized patients (SP) for training communication skills and the convenience of peer role playing (RP) there is a surprising lack of studies directly comparing the two methods.

Methods

Fifth year medical students (N = 103) were assigned to three groups receiving a training in counseling parents of sick children with RP (N = 34) or SP (N = 35) or to a control group (CG, N = 34). We assessed self-efficacy, as well as objective performance in parent–physician communication using questionnaires and the Calgary-Cambridge-Observation-Guide Checklist in a six-station OSCE, respectively.

Results

The training led to an increase in self-efficacy ratings and in the post-intervention OSCE score after RP (p < .021 and p < .001 respectively) and SP-training (p < .007 and p < .006 respectively) compared to controls. Surprisingly, this benefit was higher after RP than after SP-training (p < .021) due to significantly higher performance in the domain understanding of parents’ perspective (p < .001).

Conclusion

Both RP and SP are valuable tools for training specific communication skills. RP offer a methodological advantage in fostering empathy for patient perspectives.

Practice implications

Both peer-role-play and standardized patients hold specific benefits for communication training. Peer-role-play seems to foster a more empathic approach towards patients’ concerns justifying its prominent role in medical curricula.