Student Audiologists' Impressions of a Simulation Training Program

The use of standardised patients (SPs) and computer based simulations (CBSs) has been suggested as a method of providing students in the health sciences with basic clinical skills without relying on extensive support from external clinics. This study used a questionnaire to determine if 25 first-year audiology students from an audiology program in a large Australian university felt their interactions with SPs and CBSs had improved their ability to interact with clients and perform a basic audiometric assessment. These students reported their interactions with the SPs significantly (p < .01) improved their performance in 10 out of 10 areas of client interaction and their interactions with the CBS significantly (p < .01) improved their abilities in 6 out of 8 areas of basic audiometry. They also reported that the SPs’ portrayals of the cases and the content of the simulated cases were realistic, although further preparation for interacting with the SPs was desirable. Overall, these results support the continued investigation of SPs and CBSs as potential methods of training and assessing Australian audiology students in the areas of client interaction and basic audiometry.