Patient Role-Players to be Honored
| Oct. 18, 2002
| WHO: | Standardized Patients – people who role-play for medical and pharmacy students |
| WHAT: | The Jay Randall Awards |
| WHEN: | Mon., Oct. 21, 2002 |
| WHERE: | Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Ballroom, Little Rock 1100 Napa Valley Dr. Little Rock, AR |
| WHY: | To recognize Standardized Patients for dedication to training future health care professionals. |
The best patient role-players in the Standardized Patient Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will be honored Mon., Oct. 21, at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. The program is part of the Clinical Skills Center at UAMS. Mary Cantrell, M.A., director of the program and the center, will present Jay Randall Awards to six role-players, two each for the years 2000-2002.
A standardized patient is a layperson who uses a proscribed, step-by-step procedure to act like a patient in a physician’s office. The specific illnesses they simulate provide a way for students of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and health related professions at UAMS to practice what they’ve learned about patient interaction. The role-player is not an actor, but someone who understands the needs and desires of a patient in a doctor’s office.
“It’s a safe way to teach patient contact,” said Cantrell, “because if the students make a mistake, these ‘patients’ aren’t going to ask to see their supervisor, and maybe vow never to come back to that clinic again. This lets them make their mistakes in a controlled environment.”
The awards are named after Jay Randall, a trainer of standardized patients who died at 39. Randall was a local actor and director who founded the Arkansas Shakespeare festival. The Jay Randall Award symbolizes dedication and dependability in the job of standardized patient.