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Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Anxiety Before, During, and After a Standardized Patient Encounter


 
 Standardized patient (SP) encounters are an assessment technique in health and medical education that can improve participants' communication and clinical skills.
 
 
 
 The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of postprofessional athletic trainers before, during, and after a SP encounter.
 
 
 
 Qualitative research.
 
 
 
 Before and after participants engaged in the same SP encounter.
 
 
 
 Athletic trainers enrolled in a postprofessional doctor of athletic training program (age = 24 ± 2, years of experience = 3 ± 3).
 
 
 
 Individual, semistructured interviews were completed before and after the SP encounter via teleconferencing software. Interviews were transcribed, and data were analyzed via the consensual qualitative research tradition using a 3-person coding team. Using a multistage process, the team identified common domains and categories to confirm a consensus codebook. Trustworthiness was established using member checking and external auditing.
 
 
 
 Four domains emerged during analysis: (1) emotional state, (2) design of encounter, (3) realism, and (4) conscious consideration. Participants identified an emotional state related to self-judgment and feeling overwhelmed by time constraints. The postprofessional learners felt the SP encounter created a safe environment for integrating newly learned skills. Contrastingly, they also expressed uncertainty, as the SP encounter was perceived as an unknown situation. Before the SP encounter, participants doubted their ability to suspend reality but were surprised by the authenticity. They mentioned using self-management strategies for their feelings. After the SP encounter, participants expressed a growth mindset related to improving clinical skills, while others lacked ownership through blaming.
 
 
 
 Despite disbelief before the SP encounter, the design of the encounter provided an authentic learning environment for practicing athletic trainers to integrate and rehearse their clinical skills in a safe setting. However, participants expressed anxiety related to the SP encounter that altered their preparation and experience.
