Gearhart Clinical Skills Center

Main Content

Judith Gore Gearhart Clinical Skills Center

A learner examines a female standardized patient.The mission of the Judith Gore Gearhart Clinical Skills Center (JGGCSC) is to provide a setting for medical student and other health care service learners and providers to practice and be given feedback in communication and clinical skills using a realistic clinical environment and standardized patients / simulated participants (SPs). SPs are trained to depict simulated clinical presentations and provide learners with feedback on communication skills, information gathering (history and physical exam) and professionalism. View Simulated Participant for more information.
The JGGCSC currently conducts assessment and learning activities for most of the schools at UMMC, including Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, and Health Related Professions. The center is also able to assist non-UMMC medical students and graduates who would like additional support preparing for the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills exam.

In addition, the JGGCSC is available to develop and facilitate activities for educational and professional organizations interested in improving interpersonal communication and professionalism skills. More information about services provided by the JGGCSC can be located under Educational and Assessment Activities.

Goals

  • Provide well-trained SPs for standardized simulated encounters.

    • Patients will be trained in goals, objectives, standardized portrayal of cases, scoring and delivery of simulation feedback to students.

  • To develop and implement cases that enhance student learning.

  • Cases will be standardized.

  • Cases will facilitate learning in clinical reasoning.

  • Cases will reflect educational goals for students.

  • Cases will reflect core clinical problems as reflected in the simulation encounter.

  • Cases will encourage development of differential diagnoses that consider urgent problems.

  • Cases will augment clinical experience to address domains not commonly covered in other venues (i.e. domestic violence, delivering bad news, obtaining informed consent).

  • To provide formative evaluation to students through SPs' feedback following the simulation case.

  • To provide formative evaluation to students through faculty feedback.

 

For more information

Clinical Skills Assessment Center
Email: CSCenter@umc.edu
Phone: (601) 815-4779