Using standardized patients to educate medical students about organ donation

Medical students at Mount Sinai School of Medicine participated in an intervention designed to promote knowledge and improved communication skills related to cadaveric organ donation. The intervention required students to interact with a standardized patient for approximately 10 minutes and respond to questions posed about organ donation in a primary care context. A coding scheme for communication content was developed based upon students' accuracy and missed opportunities for educating patients. Data are presented for 2007 and 2008 first-year medical students (N=170) and results indicate several areas of students' missed opportunities for patient education including: (1) logistics of the state health care proxy, (2) timing of funeral arrangements, and (3) ability to choose organs for transplantation. The value of using standardized patients for communication training and health education/promotion is discussed.