Bridging the gap: Standardized patient encounters as a means to apply foundational science knowledge to clinical applications

Preparing first-year medical students (MS1) for exceptional patient care requires bridging the gap between foundational science and clinical practice. This project integrates standardized patient (SP) encounters into Organ Systems-1 (OS1): Immune, Hematopoietic and Cardiovascular Systems, the first dedicated systems block in the phase 1 curriculum at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. OS1 includes the normal physiology, infectious diseases, pathophysiology and pharmacology of the three respective systems and offers opportunities to incorporate SP-based encounters for small group learning. To target conditions identified as challenging by students, we conducted a needs analysis. The analysis was conducted using a Google Forms survey distributed to MS1 who had recently completed the OS1 block. The survey asked students to identify topics they found most challenging and to provide feedback on areas where they struggled to connect foundational concepts to clinical application. Results revealed that primary immune deficiencies, red and white blood cell disorders, peripheral vascular disease and conditions with associated heart murmurs were consistently difficult for students to understand and distinguish between. Based on these findings, SP cases for common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), Hodgkin’s lymphoma, anemia of chronic disease, peripheral vascular disease, rheumatic fever, and atrial fibrillation have been developed to align with foundational science topics, providing opportunities for students to apply their knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and anatomy in realistic clinical contexts. Students will engage in patient interview, physical exam, and clinical reasoning exercises while honing communication skills and empathy. The effectiveness of the SP encounters will be assessed using pre- and post-tests. These will include specific content-based questions designed to evaluate knowledge acquisition and understanding of the conditions covered, but also include subjective questions such as “Did this encounter help you better understand the management of acute rheumatic fever? Why or why not?”. Feedback from SPs, faculty evaluators, and debrief sessions will further refine the learning experience. We hope to establish that integrating SP encounters into the preclerkship curriculum can enhance students’ confidence and foundational competence in managing complex conditions such as CVID, anemia of chronic disease, and acute rheumatic fever. Drawing from research in medical education, we anticipate that these SP encounters will improve clinical reasoning, communication, and empathy by providing opportunities to apply foundational knowledge in realistic patient scenarios. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.