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Review
. 2022 Sep 1;13(5):69-76.
doi: 10.36834/cmej.72429. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Nomenclature of real patients in health professional education by role and engagement: a narrative literature review

Isabelle Burnier  1 , Grace Northrop  1 , Salomon Fotsing  1
Affiliations
Review

Nomenclature of real patients in health professional education by role and engagement: a narrative literature review

Isabelle Burnier et al. Can Med Educ J. .

Abstract
in English, French

Research problem: Real patients living with a disease and engaged in the education of healthcare professionals are referred to by different terms. To address this, A.Towle proposed a draft taxonomy.

Objective: Our objective is to extract from the literature the definitions given for the following terms: (1) patient educator, (2) patient instructor, (3) patient mentor, (4) partner patient, (5) patient teacher, (6) Volunteer Patient in order to clearly identify their roles and level of engagement.

Methods: The literature search was carried out in Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo and Eric by adding medical education or healthcare professional to our previously identified keywords to ensure that it is indeed literature dealing with real patients' involvement in the education of healthcare professionals.

Results: Certain terms refer to real and simulated patients. Roles are more or less well described but may refer to multiple terms. The notion of engagement is discussed, but not specifically.

Conclusion: Explicitly defining the terms used according to the task descriptions and level of engagement would help contribute to Towle's taxonomy. Real patients would thus feel more legitimately involved in health professional education.

Problème de recherche: Les patients vivant avec une maladie et qui sont impliqués dans l'éducation des professionnels de la santé sont désignés par des termes différents. Pour y remédier, A.Towle a proposé un projet de taxonomie.

Objectif: Notre objectif est d'extraire de la littérature les définitions données pour les termes suivants : (1) patient éducateur, (2) patient instructeur, (3) patient mentor, (4) patient partenaire, (5) patient enseignant, (6) patient volontaire afin d'identifier clairement leurs rôles et leur niveau d'implication.

Méthodes: La recherche documentaire a été effectuée dans Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo et Eric en ajoutant l'éducation médicale ou le professionnel de santé à nos mots-clés précédemment identifiés afin de s'assurer qu'il s'agit bien de littérature traitant de l'implication des patients dans l'éducation des professionnels de santé.

Résultats: Certains termes font référence à des patients ayant une maladie ou simulés. Les rôles sont plus ou moins bien décrits mais peuvent faire référence à plusieurs termes. La notion d'implication est abordée, mais pas de manière spécifique.

Conclusion: Définir explicitement les termes utilisés en fonction de la description des tâches et du niveau d'implication permettrait de contribuer à la taxonomie de Towle. Les patients se sentiraient ainsi plus légitimement impliqués dans la formation des professionnels de santé.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

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