What is your official title at Drexel?

Assistant Director, Clinical Education and Assessment Center & Standardized Patient Program

Explain what you do in under 50 words.

I oversee the recruitment, training and coordination of almost 80 standardized patients (SPs) from various backgrounds. They simulate medical conditions and act out cases to help students practice skills like taking a patient’s medical history, performing a physical exam, or breaking difficult news to a patient’s family.

Who do you interact with most on a daily basis?

More than half my time is spent interacting with our SPs, a diverse group of people dedicated to helping enrich our students’ experience interacting with patients before they are practicing on their own with real patients. A lot of my time is spent training SPs on their script and the details of the case, and doing quality assurance checks so I know they are performing to the best of their ability. Along with our SPs, our team consists of many other valuable people who contribute their time to help our SP program serve as a fun and beneficial experience to our students.

What is your typical day like?

What I enjoy most about my position is that every day is not the same. It would be hard to define a “typical day,” but my week can consist of facilitating an individual or group training with SPs for an upcoming program, proofreading cases to rule out any discrepancies before the start of a program, helping create online simulation programs with our SIMIQ software, collaborating with faculty and their coordinators to find ways to help improve on our programs from year to year, or making sure that students learn something new about themselves or their approach to patient interactions.

How do you see your work fitting into the big picture of the missions of the College?

The SP program is a vital part of the overall missions of the College of Medicine. SPs educate our students to handle a range of types of communication and challenging situations so they are prepared when they encounter a comparable situation in their own practice. Creating simulated scenarios helps prepare students to navigate these challenges. The experience that we offer with our SPs is not something students can get from a book. In addition, our team networks with other neighboring SP programs and their faculty to brainstorm new research ideas and collaborate on projects that will best serve our students with new opportunities.

What are your favorite and least favorite tasks?

Training sessions with our SPs can be a lot of fun. Having a large and diverse SP pool has been beneficial when it comes to training. I am fortunate that I can count on them to work as a team and to make sure everyone is comfortable and on the same page. I do not think I have a least favorite task, but I will say the most challenging thing is when we have a long day ahead with back-to-back programs on campus, sitting in the control room where there are no windows, and the little interaction is through a computer monitor. These days can be tough since I am the type of person who likes to be moving around rather than seated for hours at a time.

What is your educational and previous work background? How did those prepare you for what you do now?

I have been in this position for a little over a year now. Before this I worked for seven years for Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, helping organize and schedule patients’ dental treatment plans with students so their graduation requirements were met. While working there, I obtained my master’s degree in adult and continuing education. My knowledge and experience working in clinical education have led me to my role here at Drexel.

What’s one unusual or unexpected item in your home or campus work space?

I do not have the best green thumb, nor do I have much knowledge in terms of proper light and water for plants. That said, I recently purchased and put together a handful of Lego succulent sets that are scattered around my desk.

What’s one piece of Philly culture that you return to over and over again, and why?

When the weather is warm, I take long runs along Kelly Drive, and I will usually finish my run by running up the steps to the Art Museum, just like Rocky. There is something oddly satisfying about overlooking Center City from that focal point while trying to catch your breath.

 
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