Scenes of Disclosure (2019)

Standardized patients work with medical students to help them practice their clinical and interpersonal skills. This documentary explores the tension between standardization and authenticity that is involved in the standardized patients' work, particularly in the learning context of "breaking bad news". Standardized patients of the McGovern Medical School in Houston portray three distinct characters and repertoires of responses, while medical students learn to proceed according to a "breaking bad news" framework. As part of this project, the filmmaker develops a performative approach to explore how it feels to tell bad news in first-person.