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SP: A professional patient who examines doctors

china.org.cn / chinagate.cn by Fan Junmei, September 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

In a ward measuring some 10 square meters, an elderly woman wearing a hospital gown looked in some pain, her two hands pressing her stomach. A young doctor arrived and began asking about the symptoms.

Luan Xiaoying, 82, tells her unusual story about being a simulated patient (SP) after retirement.

Luan Xiaoying, 82, tells her unusual story about being a simulated patient (SP) after retirement.

Astonishingly, the patient immediately recovered after the examination, and began to seriously correct the doctor's way of inquiry and his examination technique.

This woman was not a hypochondriac, nor was she mentally ill. In fact, she was performing her duty as a "simulated patient" (SP).

In health care, an SP, also known as a standardized patient, sample patient, or patient instructor, is an individual trained to play the role of a real patient by simulating a set of symptoms or problems. The technique is seen as a good way to educate and evaluate health care professionals that can also translate into a means of medical research.

The woman involved in the above case is Luan Xiaoying, who acted as a patient suffering acute pancreatitis from 1992 to 2004.

According to the Western China Metropolitan Daily, Luan was one of the first batch of SPs in Asia trained by the Western China School of Medicine of Sichuan University.

Luan originally was a Beijing native who settled in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. She was an actress in the army's art troupe before her retirement at the age of 55.

One morning in 1992, three years after retirement, Luan noticed a recruitment advertisement when she passed by the Western China School of Medicine. She had just finished singing practice with her friends.

"It was looking for a patient instructor. Anyone speaking mandarin and with a college degree or above could apply," recalled Luan.

She had been thinking doing something more meaningful than singing after retirement, and this seemed the perfect chance.

When Luan arrived for an interview, she learnt it was a program jointly conducted by the school and China Medical Board.

More than 100 people applied, but only 39 qualified after a period of training and evaluation. Luckily, Luan was one of them and was assigned to play an acute pancreatitis patient.

To make her performance more realistic, Luan asked friends who once suffered acute pancreatitis and doctors treating the condition for help. She wrote down every detail and asked them to instruct her how to perform.

She was thought mad because she asked almost every acquaintance if they had suffered from the disease. Sometimes, she went to hospitals to observe real patients' movements and expressions.

The performance was not exactly the same because every patient might show different symptoms. Luan often got a case one week before the "lesson" and had to memorize all the symptoms listed.

She also had to remember all the exchanges between her and the doctor-to-be during the performance and later provide an evaluation.

From Monday to Friday, she played an acute pancreatitis patient twice a day that made her tired, but glad.

Luan shared her understandings about the profession of SP with the paper: "The job is to turn a student who has mastered basic knowledge into a qualified doctor who knows how to communicate with patients and correctly collect information.

"I think my job is quite meaningful when I see so many students graduate from medical schools and save lives in hospitals."

She had to quit the job in 2004 for various reasons; however, the 12 years' SP experience still influences her life. Luan, now 82, has decided to donate her body to medical science when she passes away.

"I want to do more for the cause of health care…Very few people can do something earthshaking. But it is not a life in vain if we do something meaningful within our power and prove our value," Luan said slowly, and gently while adjusting her glasses.