These Troupers Take Dramatic Turns at the Hospital

http://cheaphoganshoes.slkut.com/106

Quinn Lemley, an actress and chanteuse, has specialized in portraying Rita Hayworth in a one-woman show—channeling the 1940s glamour queen's songs and mannerisms, sashaying across the stage in elegant evening gowns reminiscent of old Hollywood.

But on some mornings after a performance, Ms. Lemley would report to Weill Cornell Medical College for a very different kind of acting job. Her costume for these gigs is two hospital gowns, one wrapped artfully on top of the other, accented by her long, red hair and, on a recent day, four-inch, flaming orange wedge shoes.

"I try to wear the gowns in a stylish way," says Ms. Lemley, preparing to slip into character as a newspaper editor with severe chest pains and a drug habit.

Forget waiting on tables or doing menial jobs. These days, to support themselves between gigs, or simply keep plying their craft, actors are auditioning at hospitals and medical schools to portray sick people—"standardized patients" in med school terms—who help aspiring doctors learn their craft.

Win May, who oversees the standardized patient program at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine says she has recruited actors who have appeared on TV shows such as "Mad Men" and "The Closer" or starred in commercials.

In New York, Bedpan Alley, the nickname for a swath of hospitals on Manhattan's Upper East Side, has forged an alliance with the city's deep pool of professional actors—many of whom are happy to land a day job playing a patient.

Weill Cornell Medical College, the Manhattan school connected to Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, pays actors $25 an hour typically for an eight-hour day. The medical college invested $13 million in a standardized patients center opened in 2007. Along with a dozen exam rooms stocked with medical equipment, there are hidden cameras that record every interaction between students and actors; two-way mirrors allow faculty to observe.

"It is like what happens at a police station," says Yoon Kang, director of the medical school's Margaret and Ian Smith Clinical Skills Center. The encounter is recorded, and students later review their performance and get feedback.

In the current economy, both Dr. Kang in New York and Dr. May in L.A. say they've seen an uptick in actors wanting patient roles.

"At least you're acting on some level," says Denise Lock, an actress and opera singer who is part of Weill Cornell's ensemble cast. Ms. Lock, who has appeared in overseas productions of Porgy and Bess, is a veteran at playing patients at medical school.

"I have done heart attacks, lupus, diabetes, Parkinson's, hot flashes," she says.

Medical schools have long used "simulated" patients to teach students to diagnose conditions. But these programs have become more widespread—and rigorous—in recent years, experts say. Concern over patient safety helped fuel growth, Dr. Kang says: "In simulated environments, students can practice and make mistakes—no one is going to get hurt."