professionals with greater clinical and interpersonal skills The Center for Advanced Clinical Simulation develops these professionals through a progressive training program and integrates them as educational facilitators in the learning process for stud

Healthcare education today faces a challenge that goes beyond technical expertise: training professionals capable of diagnosing, treating, and supporting real patients in situations of high clinical, emotional, and human complexity. In this context, Francisco de Vitoria University has established its own model of simulated patients that reinforces one of the key pillars of its educational approach in Health Sciences and other degree programs: placing the person at the center of care.

The UFV Center for Advanced Clinical Simulation works with simulated patients and has developed a programme in the field, structured and aligned with international standards. The model does not merely recruit individuals to portray clinical cases; rather, it trains, supports, and empowers them to actively participate in the educational process.

Medicine, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Dentistry, Psychology, CAFYD, Criminology, Dietetics and Nutrition, Occupational Therapy, and Social Work are some of the degree programs that incorporate the simulated programme into their curricula.

The difference lies not only in the use of simulated patients—a methodology that is becoming increasingly widespread in universities and healthcare centers—but also in having programme , progressive, and programme aligns with the international standards of best practices set by ASPE (Association of Standardized Patient Educators), one of the leading international organizations in this field. This approach makes the simulated patient an active part of the teaching and clinical simulation team, bringing rigour , consistency, and quality to students’ practical learning.

UFV1-1884 UFV is strengthening its own simulated patient model to train professionals with greater clinical and interpersonal skills Study at the Universidad Privada Madrid

Clinical training focused on communication and the patient-physician relationship

Simulated patients allow students to practice clinical scenarios in a safe environment before interacting with real patients. Through this approach, students develop essential skills such as active listening, empathy, conducting clinical interviews, communicating bad news, shared decision-making, and managing emotionally complex situations.

At UFV, these skills are not viewed as an afterthought, but rather as a core component of the future physician’s training. Clinical communication is developed progressively through simulations, recordings, debriefings, self-assessment, and personalized feedback, enabling students to understand how the way they ask questions, listen, explain, or support patients directly influences the patient experience.

This approach aligns with its unique value proposition: to train doctors with a solid scientific and technical foundation, but also with a holistic perspective on the patient, their history, their context, and their needs.

251202_UFV_367 UFV is strengthening its own simulated patient model to train professionals with greater clinical and interpersonal skills Study at the Universidad Privada Madrid

A structured program to train simulated patients

The UFV School of Medicine’s Simulated programme is organized into three levels—basic, advanced, and expert—and includes in-person training, supervised practice, video review, self-assessment, mentoring, and continuous improvement.

At the basic level, participants learn to present a clinical case coherently and to understand their role in the student’s training. At the advanced level, they delve into high-emotional-impact scenarios and the provision of structured feedback. At the expert level, they consolidate their role as educational facilitators, collaborate in competency assessment, and participate in the training of new simulated patients.

This approach ensures consistency, rigour quality in every simulation. The simulated patient does not improvise or act independently: they prepare the case, understand the educational objectives, adapt their performance to the student’s level, and provide constructive feedback based on the patient’s experience.

From presenting a case to taking an active role in the learning process

One of the most distinctive features of the UFV model is that the simulated patient does not merely play a role. Their role goes beyond acting: they observe, provide feedback, and help students become aware of the real impact of their communication and clinical decisions.

This feedback offers a perspective that is difficult to replicate through theory alone: how the patient felt, what instilled confidence in them, what helped them better understand the information, or what aspects of the clinical relationship may have caused distance, insecurity, or confusion.

In this way, students learn not only to apply their knowledge, but also to better connect with the person in front of them. The goal is for future healthcare professionals to integrate technical competence, clinical judgment, and human sensitivity into a single learning experience.

A cross-disciplinary model for ten degree programs

Although the programme primarily for medical education, it currently serves ten undergraduate and graduate programs in various health and social science fields: Medicine, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Dentistry, Psychology, Physical Education and Sports Science, Criminology, Dietetics and Nutrition, Occupational Therapy, and Social Work.

This cross-disciplinary integration allows for training in a wide variety of scenarios: clinical interviews, physical examinations, family conflicts, mental health, palliative care, delivering bad news, angry patients, or situations involving highly vulnerable individuals.

The program thus reinforces an interdisciplinary approach to university education and prepares students to work in real-world settings where technology, communication, and human interaction are inseparable.

Clinical simulation to make healthcare education more patient-centered

The UFV Advanced Clinical Simulation Center features a well-established teaching structure, trained simulated patients, specialized instructors, and facilities designed to replicate real-world clinical settings. For the Bachelor's Degree Medicine Bachelor's Degree , students participate in simulation activities throughout their entire course of study, following specific tracks in clinical skills, communication, emergency care, and comprehensive simulation.

This approach allows us to train students in a safe environment, assess their progress, and support their development before they fully enter clinical practice. But above all, it enables us to train professionals who understand that every clinical encounter is also a human encounter.

With this program, UFV reinforces a distinctive educational approach: teaching health sciences with rigour , a focus on patient safety, and a patient-centered approach. This approach to health education does not separate technical excellence from humanization, and it prepares future professionals to provide better care, communicate more effectively, and offer better support.

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UFV is strengthening its own simulated patient model to train professionals with greater clinical and interpersonal skills

professionals with greater clinical and interpersonal skills The Center for Advanced Clinical Simulation develops these professionals through a progressive training program and integrates them as educational facilitators in the learning process for stud

Clinical training focused on communication and the patient-physician relationship

A structured program to train simulated patients

From presenting a case to taking an active role in the learning process

A cross-disciplinary model for ten degree programs

Clinical simulation to make healthcare education more patient-centered

You may be interested

professionals with greater clinical and interpersonal skills The Center for Advanced Clinical Simulation develops these professionals through a progressive training program and integrates them as educational facilitators in the learning process for stud

Clinical training focused on communication and the patient-physician relationship

A structured program to train simulated patients

From presenting a case to taking an active role in the learning process

A cross-disciplinary model for ten degree programs

Clinical simulation to make healthcare education more patient-centered

You may be interested