Authored by Dr. Mais Iflaifel a lecturer in Pharmacy Education, Simulation and OSCE lead. Department of Pharmacy, King’s College London.
What is it SimConverse?
SimConverse is a generative artificial intelligence training platform designed to help students develop consultation and communication skills in a safe, judgment-free environment. It is a private healthcare AI platform owned by its co-founders, Aiden Roberts (CEO) and Will Pamment (COO).It enables realistic conversations with virtual patients, healthcare professionals, relatives, and other individuals commonly encountered in clinical practice. Following each interaction, students receive detailed personalised feedback, along with access to assessment rubrics and conversation transcripts to support reflection and ongoing learning. By allowing repeated practice of the same scenarios, SimConverse helps users build confidence, refine their skills, and prepare for real-world clinical and professional consultations.
Why did you initiate this?
SimConverse was introduced to us by our colleagues in the Nursing Department, who have successfully used the platform for the past three years. I attended a simulation session with them using SimConverse. Many universities nationally and internationally use SimConverse in their teaching, including Aston University (UK), the University of Reading (UK), the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Western Sydney University (Australia), and the University of Technology Sydney (Australia).We found that it would be a valuable addition to pharmacy, especially with the new curriculum, which prepares students to become prescribers and therefore requires strong consultation skills.
The aim of introducing SimConverse was to complement and enhance existing simulation-based teaching. SimConverse is not intended to replace face-to-face simulation or simulated patients, but rather to extend these experiences through additional self-directed and repeatable practice opportunities. By combining virtual and in-person simulation, this blended learning approach supports student confidence, communication skills, and clinical readiness while addressing practical limitations such as space, staffing, and scheduling. SimConverse also promotes inclusive access to experiential learning and aligns with emerging best practices in healthcare education by offering scalable, personalised training that can be integrated throughout the curriculum.
How is it set up?
The implementation of SimConverse was carried out through a phased approach to ensure effective integration into the curriculum.
Initial onboarding and training were delivered by the SimConverse team to support staff in developing cases and using the platform confidently. Following this, dedicated onboarding and training sessions were provided for students across all year groups before the launch of their first scenarios, alongside tutorial materials that allowed them to familiarise themselves with the platform independently.
During the development phase, the simulation lead and the clinical team created 26 cases created for all year group. A pilot phase then took place between October 2025 and March 2026, where SimConverse was incorporated into selected simulation sessions and feedback was collected from students. Students were informed by the simulation lead that they would receive a case scenario link through SimConverse with a one- to two-week deadline. Once they open the link, there are five stages to complete for each case scenario: pre-brief, talk with the patient/caregiver, reflection, second attempt to talk with the patient/caregiver, and final reflection.
This was followed by an evaluation phase in April 2026 to assess educational value, usability, and student performance. The evaluation phase was a service evaluation which used a survey built into the platform to assess the use of AI in simulation-based learning for each case scenario.
What benefits did you see?
Evaluation of SimConverse across all year groups demonstrated highly positive student perceptions of the platform. Overall agreement with evaluation statements ranged from 71.9% to 86.0%, indicating strong acceptance of the virtual simulation experience. The highest level of agreement (86.0%) was related to students perceiving the simulated environment as a safe space to practise difficult conversations, highlighting the value of SimConverse in supporting confidence-building and communication skills development. The lowest agreement score (71.9%) related to how realistic the AI interactions felt; however, this still reflected generally positive perceptions of the platform’s authenticity and usability. We know SimConverse has a reasonable level of perceived authenticity from the evaluation data, where 71% of respondents agreed that the scenarios felt realistic. This suggests that most students experienced the simulations as broadly representative of real clinical consultations. However, the level of agreement also indicates that authenticity is not universal across all learners, with a proportion of students not fully convinced by the realism. This variation may reflect differences in how students interpret “realism,” including factors such as patient responses, emotional depth or clinical complexity. It may also suggest that while the platform provides a structured and consistent consultation framework, some aspects of the lived patient experience are harder to replicate fully in a simulated environment. In response to student feedback, the platform owners have also made improvements to enhance realism, including updating the avatar from a static model to one that moves while speaking, which helps to create a more lifelike and engaging interaction.
What advice do you have for colleagues trying this?
For colleagues considering the use of SimConverse, our experience suggests that it is most effective when integrated as part of a blended learning approach rather than used as a replacement for live simulation. The platform is particularly valuable because it provides students with safe, repeatable practice opportunities supported by structured and personalised feedback. This sense of safety enables students to engage in multiple attempts without fear of failure, helping them to refine their communication skills, identify areas for improvement, and build confidence. Repeated practice in this supported environment better prepares students for real patient interactions by allowing them to learn from each attempt and progressively improve their consultation skills. However, face-to-face actor-based simulation remains essential for developing non-verbal communication, empathy, and the nuanced aspects of clinical interaction. We would therefore recommend integrating SimConverse alongside existing teaching, for example as a preparatory activity before live simulations, a standalone exercise to reinforce learning, or a follow-up activity to consolidate skills after in-person sessions. This combined approach maximises opportunities for continuous practice and skill development.
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