As the daughter of a basketball coach, Holly Gerzina, Ph.D., M.Ed., grew up observing the value of practice. Now, as the senior executive director of the Wasson Center for Clinical Skills Training, Assessment, and Scholarship, she oversees a team that helps NEOMED students and others learn to work with Standardized Patients as preparation for their future careers.

As Conan O’Brien recently discovered and told his audience on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, the concept of a Standardized Patient – used throughout the U.S. – is a wonderful thing.

These people from varied walks of life and cultural, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds are hired to reflect the people living in the communities around them. The SPs are trained to follow scripted roles – maybe one day, you’re a heavy smoker recovering from a heart attack; another day, you’re a diabetic having mysterious headaches – so that students can learn interview and diagnostic skills.

In the Fall 2021 issue of Ignite, find out how NEOMED has sought a more diverse Standardized Patient base, and how students learn to be transformational leaders at the newly built Wasson offices on campus.

Read “Practicing the Art of Care.”