Patient Volunteer Programme

1 Programme – 3 different groups of ‘Patients’

The Graduate School of Medicine (GSM)

The GSM was established in January 2007 to produce excellent medical practitioners who are able to contribute to the enhancement of health care for patients in all geographic settings, but particularly in regional, rural and remote communities. It is also expected that the GSM graduates will have a commitment to patient-centred, evidence-based, reflective and cost-effective medical practice.

The GSM has adopted a wide range of learning and educational approaches as well as state of the art technologies to assist in the facilitation of such learning. One of the key learning activities for medical students will be the interaction between students and patients. In establishing a Patient Volunteer Programme, the GSM is ensuring that students are able to learn and continually practice appropriate communications with real people, make diagnoses and have immediate access to ‘patient’ feedback. To do this successfully we need to involve people from the local communities.

Community Involvement – Patient Volunteer Programme

As the GSM progresses and develops so has our teaching and involvement of 'patients' from the community. All aspects of the programme require ‘patients’ to under go training before involvement with our students, and in some cases more specific recruitment is used.

The GSM is looking for people from the local communities to support and contribute to the development of clinical skills of future doctors. Simulated patients have a pivotal role in assisting students with their communication skills and examinations. They are required for the Clinical Skills Centres on both the Wollongong and Shoalhaven Campuses. People of all ages and backgrounds, with or without specific illnesses are welcome.

Currently we use 3 different groups of patients:

• Patient Volunteers (PtV)
• Session Specific Patients / Expert Patients
• Teaching Associates (TAs)

3 different groups of Patients...

What would I have to do as a general Patient Volunteer?

As a general Patient Volunteer, you will need to be available to participate in scripted role plays and/ or physical examinations with our 1st and 2nd Year Students. This allows the students to practice communication skills and physical examination techniques.

For example: to allow a student to become proficient in carrying out a cardio vascular examination; or taking a neurological history from a patient. This would not involve intimate examinations and we would always talk to you about nature of the activity and the level of commitment required in advance.

Many Patient Volunteers continue to participate in the programme over a period of time, accessing more training and becoming more skilled as they progress.

(See General Patient Volunteer Frequently Asked Questions for further information)

What would I do as a Session Specific Patient or Expert Patient?

This part of the programme is particularly focused on recruiting people from the community who have stable conditions which the students can learn from or who are from a particular group. These patients could be used in Clinical Demonstrations or in the Clinical Skills Sessions.

Examples of this are when the 2nd Year Students are learning about different heart sounds and murmurs or when the students are gaining an insight into the psychosocial impact of living with breast or prostate cancer. We also often require using Specific Patients for certain sessions. For example: new babies for the Well Baby Check; Mental Health Workers for the Psychiatric History Session; etc.

(See Expert Patient Programme Information for further information)

What would I do as a Teaching Associate?

Teaching Associate provide opportunities for medical students to practise intimate examinations on male / female patients in a controlled and safe educational setting. In recognition of the high level of contribution to the teaching of our students Teaching Associates receive a gift card for their involvement in the programme. This is in the form of a gift card to a well established retail group at a rate of $34.93/hour for training and reserve sessions; and $69.86/hour for physical examination sessions.

The TA Programme is designed for medical students to:

1. Gain confidence in both the fine technical skills and the sensitive communication skills required to undertake intimate examinations. For men this would involve examination of the groins, genital area and digital rectal examinations. For women this would include breast and gynaecological examinations.
2. Learn to perform these examinations in a non-threatening environment with immediate feedback and guidance from the ‘patient’.

(See Female Teaching Associates or Male Teaching Associates Information for further information.)