Patient

media release: Arts + Literature Laboratory welcomes filmmaker Lori Felker to present her short film, Patient (2023), recipient of a Golden Badger Award at the 2024 Wisconsin Film Festival, on Tuesday, July 15, 7:00pm. Free admission. 

The film will be followed by a discussion on empathy and healthcare between the director and members of the cast (current and former UW employees), including Kathleen Tissot (former Health Professions Education Coordinator), and Standardized Patients Ronna Trapanese, Suzan Kurry and more! An upcoming feature film version of Patient is the recipient of a 2025 Creative Capital Award. More about Creative Capital and the project can be read here. 

Patient crosses between fiction and observational documentary as it captures a day in the life of Standardized Patients (aka Medical Actors or Simulated Patients) who help Medical Students practice empathy, bedside manner, and procedure. Filmed entirely in Wisconsin at UW's Wichman Clinical Teaching and Assessment Center. Patient was the result of research for a feature film of the same name that the director will film in Chicago in August 2025. Engage with the short film, discuss healthcare and empathy, and learn more about upcoming feature's plot, cast, and fundraising efforts.