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TRUVACE RECORD VERSION
record: TRV-2026-1475
version: 1
kind: certified
reason: Certified into the record
timestamp: 2026-10-15T18:14:14.246661Z
status: published
lens: trace
sector: health
headline: Exploring nursing students' communication experiences with artificial intelligence-supported virtual patients: a qualitative study
dek: Background: Effective communication is essential in nursing, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT are increasingly integrated into nursing education.
Methods: This phenomenological study explores how ChatGPT-supported virtual patient scenarios influence nursing students' empathy and communication skills. Third-year nursing students enrolled in a Family Health Nursing elective interacted with a virtual patient through predefined ChatGPT prompts simulating a counseling session. Data were collecte…
gain_title: Students said ChatGPT-supported virtual patient sessions gave a structured, solution-oriented practice experience and helped them reflect on communication and empathy before meeting real patients.
problem_title: Students perceived the ChatGPT virtual patient as giving a less realistic empathy and communication experience than real patient interactions.
trace_subject: ChatGPT-supported virtual patient communication training for nursing students
gain_reading: Students said ChatGPT-supported virtual patient sessions gave a structured, solution-oriented practice experience and helped them reflect on communication and empathy before meeting real patients.
gain_evidence: helping students make reflection and self-assessment about communication and empathy | offered a structured and solution-oriented communication experience
problem_reading: Students perceived the ChatGPT virtual patient as giving a less realistic empathy and communication experience than real patient interactions.
problem_evidence: providing a less realistic communication and empathy experience than real patient interactions
quick_read: Third-year nursing students in a Family Health Nursing elective held a simulated counseling session with a virtual patient driven by predefined ChatGPT prompts. Researchers gathered their views through focus group interviews and online reflective diaries and analyzed them thematically.

The findings suggest such tools may work as a supplement to clinical communication training, not a replacement for real patient encounters. The evidence rests on student perceptions rather than measured changes in skills or patient outcomes, so the actual effect on empathy and later practice remains untested.
limitation: The findings rest on students' perceptions from a qualitative design in one elective course, so they do not show measured improvements in empathy or communication skills.
tag: Dual reading
key_points: The study used a phenomenological design with third-year nursing students in a Family Health Nursing elective. | Three themes emerged: unrealistic empathy and communication, solution-oriented effective communication, and awareness of future communication strategies. | Students saw the ChatGPT interaction style as structured and solution-oriented. | Participants said the sessions helped them identify areas for improvement before real patient contact. | The authors conclude it cannot replace real patient encounters but can complement them.
rundown: The intervention used predefined ChatGPT prompts to simulate a counseling session, so students practiced communication with a virtual patient instead of a live person or actor.

Data came from focus group interviews and online reflective diaries, which capture students' own experiences and interpretations of the sessions.

The first theme, unrealistic empathy and communication experience, reflects students' view that the AI patient fell short of real interactions. The other themes point to usefulness for reflection, self-assessment and preparation for professional communication.
sources:
- peer_reviewed | BMC Nursing | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05448-4 | 2026-10-09
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