The biggest reward I have had in being a simulated patient has been the understanding of mental conditions of the patients I was asked to perform the role of. For Deakin University, I was asked to mock an interview of a patient with severe Schizophrenia, as well as to perform a simulation of a garden variety session with a Psychologist, for training purposes. In both cases I was required to research the conditions and symptoms of the patients I was simulating, but also to interview the psychologists with clinical experience dealing with real-life patients. My eyes were opened in regards to understanding the daily problems patients might suffer. The experience is also fun and relatively easy as scripts are generally compiled in dot points. The requirement to remember words is secondary to remembering to important highlights required for education of those taking the tests.
Daniel Humphris (danieljhumphris@gmail.com)