Lynn E. Kunkel, MS; Holly E. Fussell, PhD; Colleen Shannon-Lewy, PhD; Bentson H. McFarland, MD, PhD (Oregon Health and Science University, OR Node).

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Standardized patients (SPs) are used in medical education to assist in training and evaluating clinical skills. This poster summarizes the use of an SP to test patient screening and intake processes for two clinical trials conducted in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, CTN-0029 ("A Pilot Study of Osmotic-Release Methylphenidate in Initiating and Maintaining Abstinence in Smokers with ADHD") and CTN-0030 ("Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS)"). The SP portrayed an individual seeking treatment and "walked" through the study intake process, including being interviewed by research assistants and study medical staff. The poster describes the SPs and the roles they played in each protocol, then details the observations and suggested procedural changes that emerged as a result. In conclusion, the poster reports that applying SP technology as a pilot of the implementation of clinical trials in substance abuse resulted in positive reactions from research staff. In addition, it provided staff confidence in the study flow and a better understanding of how the data collection would occur when faced with "real" study participants. Due to the success of these pilot implementations, there is evidence to suggest that SP technology could be applied in other settings such as training in a wide range of human services, or testing client responsiveness in treatment and prevention services. (Poster, PowerPoint slides, 2007, English)

Keywords: Attitudes of health personnel | CTP training | Standardized patients (SPs) | Training | Society for Clinical Trials annual meeting, 2007

Document No: 202

Submitted by Lynn Kunkel, MS, Node Coordinator, OR/HI Node.