General characteristics and experiences of specialized standardized patients: breast teaching associate professionals.

Background: Standardized patients and teaching associates provide, reinforce, and evaluate the teaching of clinical skills to students and health care providers. As new needs and roles emerge for this method of teaching and evaluation, information is needed for recruitment, training, and retention.

Methods: This article addresses the general characteristics and experiences of 12 Breast Teaching Associate Professionals (BTAPs) in a two-year NCI-funded study aimed to improve breast cancer screening practices of rural primary health care providers in Eastern Arkansas.

Results: Areas of focus are demographic characteristics, motivations for serving as BTAPs, their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of the BTAP role, and the influence or impact the role had on their own health behaviors or personal lives.

Conclusion: The evolving commitment to the value of this method of teaching and to health care education on this campus became stronger for many of the women as participation continued into other projects with further learning and specialization.