Training social work students to recognize later-life depression: Is standardized patient simulation effective?

Professional social workers are the largest provider of mental health services in the nation, yet they receive little coursework or clinical training in late-life depression unless they are in a gerontology specialization. Simulation training offers academic experiences that evoke conditions of the real world in a practical way. One hundred and four graduate social work students consented and completed the Standardized Patient Simulation course consisting of a human simulator interview, pre- and postdebriefing on late life depression, and self and faculty ratings of outcome measures.