AI-Powered Simulation: Leveraging Technology to Advance Nursing Communication Skills with AI SimBot
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Abstract
Nursing students need opportunities to practice patient communication skills in academic settings before clinical practice. Standardized-patient simulations are effective but limited by high costs and logistical barriers. These constraints reduce the frequency and diversity of simulation experiences. This study evaluated the feasibility of AI SimBot, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) virtual patient simulation. Guided by Bandura’s social cognitive theory, we examined whether AI SimBot enhanced students’ confidence and readiness to engage in sensitive communication with adolescents. AI SimBot was implemented in a prelicensure public/community health nursing course. Ninety-eight students practiced administering the CRAFFT screening tool with a virtual adolescent patient, “Jordan,” received rubric-based feedback, and submitted reflections. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Analyses focused on two reflection prompts (confidence and authenticity), with three coders independently coding and reaching consensus on themes. Students initially described nervousness but reported marked increases in confidence following the simulation. Themes highlighted the CRAFFT tool as a useful guide, the importance of nonjudgmental approaches, and challenges in adolescent communication. Students found Jordan realistic, citing adolescent language and gradual disclosure, but noted limitations such as absent nonverbal cues, an unrealistically cooperative patient, and occasional technical latency. AI SimBot enhanced nursing students’ perceived confidence and was experienced as an authentic and educationally valuable simulation. GenAI-based virtual patients offer a scalable, cost-effective supplement to standardized-patient encounters, contributing to competency-based education by providing repeated, feedback-rich practice in sensitive, high-stakes communication.
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