Skip to main content.

Employee Spotlight: Karen McNally, Standardized Patient

Karen McNally has been a standardized patient at KU School of Medicine-Wichita for about four years.

Karen McNally
Karen McNally

Through our Employee Spotlight, we invite you to meet some of the incredible people who work at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

Meet Karen McNally, one of our standardized patients:

Q: What do you do at KU School of Medicine-Wichita?
A: As a standardized patient, I learn case histories and play the role of patients in the Standardized Patient clinic within the School of Medicine. In this "mock" or "simulated" patient encounter, the student must gather evidence through an interview and a brief physical exam related to the case, arrive at a potential diagnosis, and develop a treatment plan. I may play many different patient roles throughout the year, including relatives accompanying patients.

How long have you been doing your job?
I have been a standardized patient about four years. Recently, I began to assist in the Simulation Center at KU School of Medicine-Wichita as well. In the Simulation Center, as medical students work to diagnose high-tech manikins, standardized patients can play the role of family members of the patients (manikins) so students can practice working with a patient and the patient's distressed family member at the same time.

What do you like best about your job?
I enjoy seeing and interacting with many students from diverse backgrounds, and feeling like I have helped them learn a little more about the diagnostic process and interpersonal skills associated with medicine.

What's the biggest challenge you've had as a standardized patient?
As odd as it might sound, the biggest challenge for many standardized patients is refraining from offering too much information before the student asks specific questions. There is a temptation to help them get it right when it's important to provide them the opportunity to explore the possible symptoms carefully and thoroughly.

What's a favorite moment or experience as part of your job?
A favorite moment is hard to pinpoint. The best moments are when I see or sense a genuine care and compassion from the student, even though they know I am playing a role. One of the most fun moments occurred when three other standardized patients and I were playing the role of doctors, complete with white coat and stethoscopes as we took a photo in our "doctor poses." (The consulting doctor role is more typical of pharmacy student training.)


KU School of Medicine-Wichita