The Virtual Standardized Patient-Simulated Patient-Practitioner Dialogue for Patient Interv.pdf

The Virtual Standardized Patient Simulated Patient-Practitioner Dialogue for Patient Interview Training Robert C. Hubal, M.S., Ph.D. Paul N. Kizakevich, M.S., P.E. Curry I. Guinn, Ph.D. Kevin D. Merino, B.E.D. Suzanne L. West, Ph.D. Research Triangle Institute 3040 Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 rhubal@ We describe the Virtual Standardized Patient (VSP) application, having a computerized virtual person who interacts with medical practitioners in much the same way as actors hired to teach and evaluate patient assessment and interviewing skills. The VSP integrates technologies from two successful research projects conducted at Research Triangle Institute (RTI). AVA TALK? provides natural language processing, emotion and behavior modeling, and composite facial expression and lip-shape modeling for a natural patient-practitioner dialogue. Trauma Patient Simulator (TPS) provides case-based patient history and trauma casualty data, real-time physiological modeling, interactive patient as sessment, 3-D scenario simulation, and instructional record-keeping capabilities. The VSP offers training benefits that include enhanced adaptability, availability, and assessment. 1. Introduction Standardized Patients (SPs), sometimes called simulated patients, are actors playing the role of patients or actual patients coached to present specific illnesses to the medical practitioner. Their purpose is to teach and evaluate patient assessment and interviewing skills. At least 94 medical schools in the U.S. and Canada currently employ SPs in their teaching programs, and 26 U.S. medical schools cooperate in resource-sharing, standard-setting, and other issues relevant to implementing effective SP programs. There are limits to how effective SPs can be for training. Given such concerns as actor training and availability, reproducibility, changing evaluation criteria, and implementation cost, we have begun development of virtual