Image courtesy of UC Irvine Senior Health Center
Clinical Care from the
Patient Perspective (CCPP)
Experience
Lisa M. Gibbs, MD
Supported by a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
Clinical Care from the Patient Perspective (CCPP)
Experience
Notes to Instructors:
Introduction:
The CCPP is a learning exercise for medical students designed to promote awareness of the
patient’s experience during an ambulatory patient visit. The medical student will step out of the
physician-learner role and view the interaction from the patient’s perspective. The rationale
behind this exercise is to develop an understanding of patients’ stated and unstated needs
during a given encounter. This experience is designed to cultivate empathy in learners by
assuming an advocacy role for the patient. The objectives are as follows:
1. To provide a reflective exercise in patient-physician communication, health literacy and
medical decision making.
2. To engender empathy for patients.
3. To appreciate the role of the Medical Assistant as a part of the medical team, noting that
the Assistant has valuable information to share as a result of the ‘rooming process.’
4. Since learners observe their attending’s patient visits, learners will appreciate that even
experienced clinicians have a variety of clinical outcomes.
Notes for Instructors and Students
Methods:
1. Each learner will pair with the Medical Assistant who is working with their physician
attending. The learner will follow the MA once to observe process and techniques of
preparing patients for the visit.
2. The physician will then identify an appropriate patient for the learner to assume the
MA/advocate role. Once identified, the student should be aware of the patient in the
waiting area.
3. When a room is ready and the medical assistant is available to observe, the learner will
greet the patient, obtain the vital signs, escort them to the room and elicit their chief
complaint.
4. While the learner waits for the provider with the patient, he/she will then discuss the
questions below with their patient.
5. Once the physician or provider enters, they will assume an observer role, knowing what
the patient’s needs are, and taking note of the patient-physician interaction. After the
visit has concluded, the student will continue to observe the discharge process, noting
areas where patients need additional assistance in making appointments, and following
up on physician instructions.
Assignment Questions:
1. What was your patient’s general demeanor and comfort level in the reception
area? (Communication)
2. Patient’s hesitancies and hopes for their visit are apparent even before the formal
encounter with their physician. Did they start to express this as you obtained their
vital signs and roomed them? (Communication)
3. What was the wait like for them? Did it eventually help or hinder the patientphysician encounter? (Empathy)
4. What were your patient’s hopes for the visit? (Note that it may be completely
different from their chief complaint. Physicians learn to balance their own
agenda for patient care with the patients’ needs. ) (Empathy)
5. Was the medical subject matter discussed in a way that your patient understood
the content? (Health Literacy)
6. If treatment decisions were made, how would you describe the decision making
process? (Medical decision-making) Were the decisions shared between the
physician and patient or unilateral decisions? Was this process helpful for your
patient?
7. After the visit: Were your patient’s questions answered? Were some left
unanswered? Why? If un-answered, was your patient frustrated?
(Communication)
8. Did your patient/family understand the discharge process-how to make an
appointment and act upon referrals? (Health Literacy)
9. After experiencing this patient-physician interaction from the patient’s
perspective, please discuss what you learned.
Please prepare a written summary of your answers to the above questions and be
prepared to discuss them during the Wrap-Up session at the conclusion of your
Geriatric Medicine rotation.
Clinical Care from the Patient Perspective (CCPP)
Experience Presentation
Notes: