Program directors
Give each learner a clear path through communication remediation
Last updated: September 2026
Learners rehearse high-stakes conversations with AI patients and see what they did well and what to practice next. Reports use the standard approved for the case and cite transcript evidence, so faculty can focus coaching and bring a clear record to CCC review.
What's at stake
Faculty time consumed
One published clinical reasoning remediation program required a mean of 29.6 specialist contact hours, excluding program director, CCC, coordinator, and legal time.
No standardized tools
In a survey of 267 family medicine program directors, 93% reported at least one resident in remediation during the prior three years.
Limited formal training in remediation
One in four program directors reported receiving little to no training in how to remediate residents.
Communication needs repeated practice
Communication and professionalism concerns require faculty judgment, repeated observation, and a plan that gives the learner another chance to show the behavior.
The numbers
of 267 surveyed family medicine program directors reported remediation in the prior three years
CERA Survey, 267 Family Medicine PDs
mean specialist contact hours in one clinical reasoning remediation program
Guerrasio and Aagaard, J Gen Intern Med, 2014
of PDs want an accessible remediation toolkit
CERA Survey
of PDs received little to no training in remediation
CERA Survey
How ClinicalSim helps
Feedback that guides the next attempt
Learners see what they did well and what to practice next, then repeat breaking bad news, informed consent, and other high-stakes conversations between coaching sessions.
Rubric-scored assessment
Each conversation is scored against the standard approved for the case, and every score cites the transcript line behind it, so faculty and the CCC can inspect the feedback rather than rely on a rating alone.
On demand, not on schedule
The learner who needs more practice should not have to wait for the next available SP slot. ClinicalSim provides repeatable practice from any device without booking another room or actor.
Faculty coach, not faculty infrastructure
The program director stays in the loop as coach without serving as the entire remediation infrastructure. Review agreed practice records without sitting in every session.
Example feedback
Review an unedited encounter
Open the recording, transcript, and framework-based feedback without signing in or booking a demo.
Related insights
How to design an OSCE case that shows what a learner can do
Start with the decision the station should support, define observable behaviors, give learners a fair chance to show them, train the SP, and pilot the scoring before the station counts.
Breaking bad news is a practice problem, not a knowledge problem
A framework can organize a conversation, but learners still need repeated spoken practice with feedback. The evidence shows how little formal training many residents receive and what a program can do about it.
Simulation can preserve affirming care practice as exposure shrinks
Sixty percent of surveyed residency program directors reported no rotation with direct clinical exposure to transgender patients. A team presenting at IPSS Rome designed an AI patient scenario for structured communication practice when clinical exposure is limited.
What programs lost when Step 2 CS disappeared, and what hasn't replaced it
USMLE discontinued Step 2 CS in 2021. No national successor now assesses clinical communication, so programs have built local methods around Milestones 2.0 with uneven time, tools, and evidence.
When a simulation vendor shuts down, the program keeps the obligation
Kognito stopped selling in August 2023. Five questions to ask before a simulation vendor holds records your program needs for resident evaluation.
Questions we get from this seat
How much faculty time does communication remediation take?
One published clinical reasoning remediation program required a mean of 29.6 specialist contact hours per learner (Guerrasio and Aagaard, J Gen Intern Med, 2014), and that figure excludes program director, CCC, coordinator, and legal time. It is a single program's mean rather than a benchmark, so treat it as the one published number available rather than a range to plan against.
How common is resident remediation, and are program directors trained for it?
In a CERA survey of 267 family medicine program directors, 93% reported at least one resident in remediation during the prior three years, 25% reported receiving little to no training in how to remediate, and 50% said they want an accessible remediation toolkit. Communication and professionalism are the competencies that need faculty judgment and repeated observation, which is exactly what a program has least of.
What can a program director give a learner between coaching sessions?
Structured practice in the specific conversation the learner wants to improve, repeated without booking a standardized patient or a room for each attempt. Each report shows strengths and areas for practice against the standard approved for the case. Under access rules set before launch, the program director can focus coaching without attending every session.
Can a ClinicalSim report go into a Clinical Competency Committee review?
Yes. Each report scores the conversation against the standard approved for the case and quotes the learner's own words under every score, so a CCC can read what the learner said alongside faculty observation and the other evidence it already uses. The report does not replace faculty judgment or the committee's decision.