Zalewski, B., Guziak, M., & Walkiewicz, M. (2023).
Perspectives on medical education, 12(1), 455–461.
Abstract
The phenomena of the simulated (SP) and virtual patient (VP) is widely described in the literature. Although it is difficult to find any practical information on developing these methods for teaching psychological assessment. Having conducted a long-term research project regarding this topic, we report the experience gained and retrospectively identify many mistakes. In this article, we present a summary of creating and using both SP and VP methods in clinical psychology and propose some insights and tips for their development, based on our experiences. While the project concerned clinical psychology, we believe the reflections might be applicable to a wider group of educational situations in which students develop competencies to carry out a diagnostic process with a real patient.
Here are some thoughts:
This is a methodologically reflective, practice-oriented paper that fills a genuine gap. It moves beyond the typical “SP/VP are effective” narrative to answer: How do you actually build them, who should play the roles, what goes wrong, and how long does it really take? Educators and researchers in clinical psychology, medical education, and even general communication training will find the insights highly transferable.
If there is a limitation, it is that the findings come from a single research group in Poland, with specific cultural and institutional contexts. However, the problems identified (student overload, simulant burnout, decision-tree explosion) are likely universal. Replication studies in other settings would strengthen generalizability.
