Standardized Patients to Deliver or Evaluate Suicide Prevention Trainings for Health Professionals: A Scoping Review

Objective

Existing reviews on how standardized patients (SPs) have been used to teach suicide prevention skills to health professionals have often been limited to psychiatric nursing. A broader and more in-depth evaluation is needed. The research objective was to explore how SPs have been used to deliver or evaluate suicide prevention training programs for health professionals, particularly pharmacists.

Findings

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed throughout this scoping review. Titles and abstracts were screened, and eligible articles were reviewed by 2 independent coders, who extracted information on 9 key categories, including trainee type, SP scenario, type of SP, and strengths and limitations of the SP methodology. A total of 65 studies were included. The SP methodology was used widely across health care disciplines, including pharmacists and student pharmacists (n = 12). Strengths to the SP methodology reported in the articles were improving knowledge (n = 12), building trainee confidence (n = 11), and developing and practicing clinical and communication skills (n = 9), among others.

Summary

SPs were considered an effective way to train health professionals in suicide prevention skills. Tailored SP scenarios, informed by people with lived experience of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts, which reflect common pharmacist interactions, can better prepare pharmacists for intervening when patients exhibit suicidal warning signs. Further research is needed to assess the cost-benefit of nonhuman virtual SPs in pharmacy education.