Standardized Patients

• A Standardized Patient (SP) (also sometimes referred to as a or Standardized Client (SC)) is a person trained to portray the personal history, physical symptoms, emotional characteristics and everyday concerns of an actual patient.
• An SP or SC plays an integral role in educational settings such as interactive teaching environments, group demonstrations, clinical examinations, videos or portrayal customized to meet the client’s needs.
• An SP is trained to provide constructive feedback to learners at all levels of training from the patient’s unique perspective.

The Standardized Patient Program (SPP) recruits and coordinates assignments of Standardized Patients (SPs) to deliver high-quality simulation and educational services for the University of Toronto’s MD Program, academic departments, and community-based initiatives projects.

SPs are utilized at both the St. George Campus and the Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM) campus, serving MD Program learners at twelve teaching hospitals in Toronto and two in Mississauga. Each campus has a dedicated pool of SPs, reflecting the rich diversity of the communities we serve.

Training Locations:

• In-person training for Greater Toronto Area (GTA) roles is conducted at the SPP office, located at 263 McCaul Street, Toronto.
• Training for Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM) roles takes place at 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga.

The SPP offers a flexible mix of in-person and online teaching, training, simulation, and assessment services.

Are you passionate about education, communication, and making a meaningful impact in healthcare and professional training?

Become a Standardized Patient or Simulated Client with the SPP and contribute to shaping the next generation of professionals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and life experiences—your unique perspective helps create realistic, inclusive, and effective learning environments.

The SPP is looking for individuals to join their program at both campuses. SPs should be:

• Between 20 to 60 years of age
• Able to retain information
• Reliable and punctual
• An active listener
• Able to work with others in a professional and respectful manner
• Able to receive constructive feedback and provide feedback to learners
• Able to follow detailed instructions and reproduce simulation consistently
• Additionally, knowledge of a second language is an asset

Then this is an opportunity for you. Apply to be a Standardized Patient online.

Interviews are scheduled three times a year based on demographic gaps, project and session requirements.

• SPs are casual employees of the University of Toronto and are members of United Steel Workers (USW)1998 Casual Bargaining Unit.
• SPs are paid an hourly rate depending on the project or scenario and always a minimum of two hours. Pay is on a bi-weekly basis.
• SP work hours are irregular and sporadic in nature, since they are dependent on multiple factors – projects, UofT academic year, etc. The SPP cannot guarantee a fixed minimum or maximum number of hours of work.
• The Standardized Patient Program is committed to creating a culturally diverse SP pool, and to being equitable in providing work opportunities to SPs. University of Toronto - Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Excellence
• To find out more about SP work, please reference the Standardized Patient Guide.