PRINTOn the Job: Medical simulation actor
JASON LENHART
Peter Beiger, left, acting as a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder patient, talks with second year medical student Shahbaz Qalbani during a mock psychological evaluation at the MU Medical School. Beiger, an actor by trade, says he enjoys giving the med students the opportunity to practice the skills they are learning in classes.
January 14, 2010 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Peter Beiger has been through all kinds of illnesses. No, he’s not a man with an unfortunately weak immune system; he’s a medical school simulation actor who gets paid to act out illnesses so medical students can practice diagnosing.
Explain your job.
Name: Peter Beiger
Age: 67
At Job Since: 2009
In Columbia Since: 1971
The official title is Standardized Patients. I am on a list of 80 standardized patients ranging from their 70s and 80s down to children. The main purpose is to give medical students an opportunity to interact with and examine patients prior to going on the hospital floor.
What happens in a typical day at work?
You are given a scenario with characteristics and symptoms. I’ve done about seven or eight different ones now. They’re always unique, and some are more complex than others. I go in with the material and do a practice run with an intern or doctor. They give me a critique, and then I go home and go over it and study the character until I am called in.
How many sessions do you do per week?
When I’m called in I do about 10 a day. I get called in at any time of the week and any time of the day depending on when the student doctors are available. This week I’ve been there every day, but usually they just call me when I’m suitable for the character.
What kind of characters have you played?
I’m not allowed to mention that because all of the characters that we do have a history, information about behavior and clinical symptoms. All of the characters are based on real people, so I can’t give details. They do run a gamut, though.
What kind of information are you given about the characters?
We are given the symptoms, history, background and complications, and we personalize those and make them human. I come up with a way the character would hold their body, their emotional life and their intentions.
What is the building like where the examinations are conducted?
The center is filled with examination rooms that are the way real examination rooms would be. There are large trauma rooms and authentic dummies. There are cameras in the rooms so the med students can watch their examination and go over it with an instructor.
What is your favorite thing about the job?
Aside from the fact that it is unique and I like it because I like role playing, I like that it really gives student doctors time to practice. They have a chance to really allow their personalities to bear on the circumstances, have dialogue, ask questions and get personal. They can hone their bedside manner.
What kind of traits would someone need to do this job?
I have to be quick on my feet and be able to improvise because you don’t know what kinds of questions they’re going to ask. Not everyone there are actors; they’re people from around town. You need to be simple, clear, relaxed and willing to play the role.
Is there any kind of audition process?
In a way, because you do the run-through beforehand and get critiqued. If they didn’t like the job you did and weren’t suitable, they wouldn’t call you back.
What do you do to prepare to play a character?
I do different characterizations and get into the emotional parts because that is what I have been trained to do as an actor. It’s about empathy. I get the material beforehand and I try to justify in my mind that it is a real person with a real case because some of them are really out of the ordinary.
Do you wear any kind of costume?
I don’t think we have costumes, formally thinking; we’re just regular people. I take what the character might be wearing into consideration to decide if they would be dressed up or dressed down. I’ve worn everything from sweats to a shirt and tie.
What is the hardest part of the job?
I do a lot of sessions right in a row and it can get really intense. By the end of it you start to feel like you have the symptoms. If I’m playing a character that is having an anxiety or panic attack I start to take on that breathing and other characteristics. I only get a short break and then I have to start getting into character again.
What is your background in acting?
I’ve been acting since I was 13. I have a master’s from the MU Artists Scholars Program in theater, a Master of Fine Arts from Penn State and a B.A. from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. I have done TV and commercial and film acting. I was in an ABC special on Anne Frank and in a slasher movie. I mostly do theater. I have done work for Stephens College and the Playhouse Theatre Company off an on for 30 years.
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