Virtual Patients for Communication Skills Training: A Mixed Methods Evaluation

Effective communication is critical in clinical practice, and virtual patients offer a promising, safe alternative for enhancing communication training in medical education.

To evaluate the effectiveness of virtual patient-based simulation in enhancing key communication skills-such as active listening, empathy, and clarity of explanations-and to explore learner experience, including engagement, satisfaction, usability, and perceived educational value, using a mixed methods approach.

This one-year mixed-methods study (Aug 2022-Jul 2023) assessed the effectiveness and learner experience of virtual patient-based communication training among undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees across six institutions in Pakistan. A total of 258 undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees participated in virtual simulations using the Body Interact™ platform (Take The Wind, SA, Coimbra, Portugal). Participants were enrolled through convenience sampling and represented a mix of clinical-year undergraduates and early- to mid-stage postgraduate trainees, with no prior formal training in virtual patient-based communication tools. Quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-training questionnaires assessing communication skills, confidence, and satisfaction, analyzed using paired t-tests. Qualitative data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants (n ≈ 25) and analyzed using thematic analysis. Triangulation integrated both data sets for comprehensive interpretation.

Participants showed significant improvement in communication domains, including active listening (pre: 3.21±0.81; post: 4.11±0.66; p<0.001), empathy and rapport (pre: 3.05±0.76; post: 4.00±0.61; p<0.001), and clarity of explanations (pre: 3.14±0.83; post: 4.02±0.59; p<0.001). Overall communication confidence increased by +1.16 points (p<0.001), and satisfaction by +1.15 points (p<0.001). Qualitative themes supported these findings, highlighting perceived realism, engagement, and reflective learning, with minor usability concerns.

Virtual patients are an effective and engaging tool for improving healthcare communication skills in clinical trainees.