Standardized Patient Education Focused on Equity Deserving Groups

INTRODUCTION: Health professions training programs must train future healthcare providers to meet the needs of equity-deserving patient populations. Standardized patient (SP) programs are one mechanism by which this training can occur. Our aim was to develop a set of recommendations for SP programs and educators around planning, organizing, and delivering SP-based education involving equity-deserving groups. METHODS: We undertook a qualitative analysis of interview transcripts of SPs, educators, and trainers involved in SP work with equity-deserving groups. Subsequently, we conducted a three-stage modified Delphi process to generate recommendations. RESULTS: We derived 10 tips to help stakeholders improve SP-based education involving equity-deserving groups. The underlying themes included collaborative involvement, including co-creation and co-delivery of content with members of equity-deserving groups, as well as consistent prioritization of the needs of SPs throughout the process. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest ways in which SP programs and educators can better train future healthcare providers to meet the needs of equity-deserving patient populations.