standardized patients versus simulated patients in medical education: are they the same or different

In order to equip medical students with all the necessary skills in dealing with patients toprovide optimal treatment, the need for the use of real patients in educational settings hasbecome prominent. but all the required skills cannot be practiced on real patients due topatients’ safety and well-being. thus, the use of standardized patients (sps) or simulatedpatients (sips) as a substitute for real patients signifies their importance in simulationbased medical education. one question raised in regard to using sps or sips in order toenhance medical students’ tangible and intangible skills in a safe controlled environmentis whether these two terminologies are the same or different? various studies use theseterms interchangeably and do not consider a difference between them. based on ourliterature review, there seems to be differences between these two modalities. we alsotry to highlight the advantages of these modalities in clinical encounters.