AI Virtual Patients for SEGUE Training Many Chinese medical students enter clinical rotations with only limited, theory‑based exposure to physician–patient communication , and traditional standardized patient (SP) programs are difficult to scale. In this mixed‑methods randomized trial, 82 senior clinical students were allocated to either 2 hours of SEGUE‑based communication training with AI‑driven virtual standardized patients (AI‑VSPs; n = 40) or with human SPs (n = 42), after a shared 3‑week ethics course and baseline SEGUE assessment.
Both groups improved significantly: mean total SEGUE scores rose from about 12.8/25 at baseline to 17.33 ± 2.13 with SPs and 18.53 ± 2.51 with AI‑VSPs, with the AI group achieving higher adjusted total scores and higher Content subscores ( 12.55 ± 1.91 vs 11.74 ± 1.38 ; both P ≈ 0.01), while Process scores (empathy, perspective‑taking, interactional…
