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Simulated Patients’ Perspectives Of And Perceived Role In Medical Students’ Professional Identity Development, Michelle Mclean, Patricia Johnson, Sally Sargeant, Patricia Green

Sally Sargeant

Introduction: Much has been written about medical students’ professional identity formation, the process of “becoming” a doctor. During their training, medical students interact with a range of teachers and trainers. Among these are simulated patients (SPs) who role-play patients, assisting students with their communication, procedural, and physical examination skills. With SPs regularly interacting with students, this qualitative study explored their views of students’ emerging professional identities at one Australian medical school. SPs’ contributions to developing professional identities were also explored.

Methods: Fourteen SPs were interviewed individually or in pairs. After template analysis of the transcripts using a priori themes, a …