Standardized patient experiences study on clinical performance evaluation of nursing college students' ability: A qualitative study

Nursing students' direct exposure to patients is limited, thus affecting their performance in practical clinical settings in the healthcare field, including hospitals or communities. Therefore, various clinical situation scenarios, using standardized patients trained to act like real patients (i.e., simulation practice), are applied in nursing education. This study examined the experiences of standardized patients, who were acting majors and had experience in acting, as patients for nursing students' education. A qualitative research. A university in J city, South Korea. Participants were 29 college students majoring in acting with experience of participating as standardized patients. The snowball technique was used for the recruitment of participants. Data were collected using focus group interviews from November 20, 2017, to February 2, 2018. The duration of each interview was 60–90 min, and they were analyzed using content analysis. The final theme was ‘becoming a partner of nursing education’. The participants' experiences were identified in four subthemes: ‘beginning with worries’, ‘requiring thorough preparation’, ‘growing together’, and ‘becoming immersed in the duties undertaken’. It is necessary to recognize the role of standardized patients as partners in simulation practice in nursing education. Further, developing a systematic education program is vital to nurture patients by understanding their experiences.