Medical school (UME)
Build communication skills alongside clinical knowledge
Last updated: September 2026
Sequence practice from the first patient history through diagnosis disclosure and clerkship conversations, including the communication stations students meet in an OSCE. Each conversation is scored against the communication framework named on the case and recorded against the AAMC Foundational Competencies.
A four-year progression
Communication competency sequenced to develop in step with the curriculum.
History taking
Structured intake, building rapport, eliciting the chief complaint, and asking about sensitive history without breaking trust.
Updating the family on a plan
Translating a working diagnosis and treatment plan into plain language, checking understanding with teach-back, and handling questions.
Delivering a new diagnosis
Disclosing a serious new diagnosis with structure (SPIKES), responding to emotion, and outlining next steps clearly.
One record across four years
Participants get feedback they can use on the next attempt, while programs review agreed individual or cohort views.
On demand, not on schedule
Voice-based AI patient encounters available 24/7 from any device. No standardized patient to recruit, no sim center to book, no faculty observer required to practice.
Scored on the case framework, mapped to UME competencies
Each conversation is scored against the communication framework named on the case and recorded against the AAMC Foundational Competencies, with the student's own words quoted under every score.
A program view for coaching
Review repeated practice and transcript-linked feedback by participant or cohort, with institution-defined access, so coaches can see strengths and choose the next practice focus.
Private, repeatable practice
Learners can repeat a case in private before sharing the report with a faculty member, coach, or program.
Frequently asked questions
How does this fit a four-year UME curriculum?
Scenarios are sequenced so communication complexity rises with clinical knowledge, beginning with structured history-taking in the preclinical years and progressing to diagnosis disclosure during clerkships. A longitudinal dashboard follows each student across all four years.
Can students use it to prepare for an OSCE?
Students get repeatable OSCE practice on demand between scheduled standardized patient encounters, rehearsing the communication tasks a station asks for: taking a focused history, explaining a diagnosis, and answering a family's questions. Each attempt is scored against the rubric written for the case, with the student's own words quoted under every score, so the student sees what worked and what to practice before the station counts. Scheduled SP encounters are limited by actor time, rooms, and faculty observers, so they can score a communication skill without giving a student the repetition needed to build one. Live assessment stays with faculty and the program. Extend your SP program, don't replace it.
What does a virtual OSCE station look like here?
A student opens a case, speaks with an AI patient by voice for about the length of a station, and gets a report scored against the rubric written for that case and the AAMC Foundational Competencies. The encounter is transcribed, so a student can read back what they actually said rather than what they remember saying, which is the part a hurried debrief after a real OSCE rarely reaches. Graded encounters stay with faculty.
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.
What 12 medical students want from AI patient simulation
Researchers interviewed 12 clinical-year medical students and ran three codesign workshops. The students put feedback, case quality, and faculty involvement ahead of novelty.
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.