How do examiners and examinees think about role-playing of standardized patients in an OSCE setting?

OBJECTIVE The use of standardized patients in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations in the assessment of psychiatric residents has increased in recent years. The aim of this study is to investigate the experience of psychiatry residents and examiners with standardized patients in Iran. METHOD Final-year residents in psychiatry participated in this study. Experienced examiners were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning the ability of standardized patients to realistically portray psychiatric patients. RESULTS Standardized patients can convincingly portray psychiatric disorders and act according to the requested complex scenarios. CONCLUSIONS According to these findings, the authors recommend the use of standardized patients in OSCEs for psychiatric board certification exams.