Communication is a clinical procedure — the one physicians perform most and practice least.
Voice-based AI simulation for breaking bad news
ClinicalSim practices and measures clinical communication across the medical-education continuum, with rubric scoring tied to ACGME Milestones 2.0. In a feasibility pilot with residents and advanced practice providers, comfort with difficult conversations improved significantly and objective communication scores rose with repeated practice (presented at IPSSW 2026).
What is ClinicalSim?
ClinicalSim is a voice-based AI clinical simulation platform for practicing and measuring clinical communication — the hardest competency to teach, train, and measure. The same engine and dashboard serve medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty, with rubric-scored practice mapped to ACGME Milestones 2.0 and documented feedback from every session.
Conversations you can practice
- Breaking bad news
- Goals-of-care discussions
- Informed consent
- Error disclosure
- Difficult family meetings
- Delivering a new diagnosis
- Communicating uncertainty
- Giving difficult feedback
- Professionalism conversations
- History-taking
Across the training continuum
- Undergraduate Medical Education
- Graduate Medical Education
- Faculty Development
Communication isn't a soft skill. When it fails, the cost is measurable.
The conversations clinicians have the least time to practice are the ones with the highest stakes.
of hospital adverse events are linked to communication failures
The Joint Commission, Sentinel Event Data
of malpractice cases now involve a communication failure — up from 30%
Candello 2025 Benchmarking Report
Communication is the hardest competency to teach, train, and measure.
Since Step 2 CS retired in 2021, there's no scalable way to measure communication against ICS milestones, EPAs, or competency frameworks. The gap is sharpest in remediation, where it's impossible to ignore:
of residency programs have faced remediation in the past 3 years
CERA Survey, 267 Family Medicine PDs
faculty hours consumed per remediation case
University of Colorado; Penn EIRC
of program directors want an accessible remediation toolkit
CERA Survey
published studies exist on communication-specific remediation
Literature review
Why now
Step 2 CS is gone.
In 2021, USMLE permanently discontinued Step 2 CS — the only national standardized assessment of clinical communication skills. Programs now bear sole responsibility for communication assessment with inconsistent tools and no external benchmark.
Milestones 2.0 raised the bar.
ACGME Harmonized Milestones 2.0 created a universal ICS framework across all specialties. For the first time, there's a standardized rubric — and a product can serve all programs with a common assessment standard.
No scalable remediation tool exists.
93% of programs face remediation, but only 16 published studies address communication-specific remediation. The CERA survey confirmed: half of program directors said a remediation toolkit is the single thing that would help most. We built it.
One platform. Many conversations.
The same engine, rubric, and dashboard across every stage of a medical career.
Communication Remediation
Targeted practice for the learner on a remediation plan
- Targeted, milestone-mapped practice for a struggling learner
- Unlimited on-demand repetitions — no SP, no scheduling
- CCC-ready documentation from every session
Residency & Fellowship
A longitudinal communication curriculum across PGY years
- A gradual arc from PGY-1 to senior resident and fellow
- Mapped to ACGME Milestones 2.0 and ABP EPAs
- A trackable dashboard that follows learners year over year
Undergraduate Medical Education
From history-taking to delivering a diagnosis, across four years
- A four-year arc from M1 history-taking to M4 diagnosis disclosure
- Communication grows alongside clinical knowledge
- A dashboard that follows students through clerkships
Faculty Development
The conversations faculty are expected to model
- Practice giving difficult, specific feedback
- Navigate professionalism conversations with peers
- Rehearse bedside and small-group teaching
Looking ahead
The confidence–competence gap doesn't end at training.
In one survey, the attendings furthest out from training reported the highest confidence in leading end-of-life conversations — and the least formal preparation for them. Confidence isn't evidence of skill; it's often the absence of feedback. The same practice that develops trainees can keep practicing clinicians sharp.
See ClinicalSim in Action
Watch how learners practice difficult conversations with AI-powered simulation
Why ClinicalSim
Built for the conversations clinicians face but rarely get to practice.
Built for the Full Training Continuum
The same engine, rubric, and dashboard serve medical students, residents, fellows, and practicing faculty — from a first patient history to leading a goals-of-care meeting. Longitudinal curriculum, faculty development, and remediation all run on one platform.
Measured Improvement, Not Marketing Claims
In a feasibility pilot with residents and advanced practice providers, comfort with difficult conversations improved significantly, and objective communication scores improved with repeated practice. Findings presented at IPSSW 2026, with a manuscript in preparation.
Voice-Based Practice
Real-time spoken conversations with AI patients across goals of care, diagnosis disclosure, and family meetings. Clinical communication happens out loud, and training should too.
Scale Across Your System
Deploy training across every program and training level — medical school through fellowship — without scheduling, logistics, or linear cost scaling. Works for a single program or an entire institution.
CCC-Ready Documentation
Every practice session generates timestamped, milestone-aligned assessment data. Track learner progress longitudinally and generate documentation your Clinical Competency Committee can use at the next review.
Private, Judgment-Free Practice
Remediation carries stigma. ClinicalSim lets learners practice difficult conversations privately — no observers, no scheduling, no performance anxiety. Repeat as many times as needed in a low-stakes environment designed for growth.
What learners are saying
From clinicians in our pilot study
It was helpful to have time to think and reflect without feeling the pressure of a person across from you expecting a response.
Clinician, Pilot Study Participant
Helpful to practice responses... and choose phrasing of the responses.
Clinician, Pilot Study Participant
What faculty are saying
I just tried it out and it was like talking to a real patient.
Faculty, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Built for every stakeholder across the training continuum
See how ClinicalSim works for your role.
Program Directors
The remediation toolkit you told CERA you wanted
- 20 structured encounters before your first coaching session
- Milestone-aligned feedback your CCC can use at the next review
- No scheduling, no SP recruitment, no faculty observer required for practice
DIOs & GME Leadership
Standardize remediation infrastructure across every program
- Standardized remediation documentation across every program
- Costs less than a single PACE assessment
- Every session creates a timestamped, milestone-aligned record
Simulation Center Directors
Extend your SP program, don't replace it
- Assessment data your CCC can actually use from every session
- Practice volume struggling learners need without scheduling bottleneck
- Measurable communication outcomes that justify your center's investment
Clinical Competency Committees
Milestone-aligned data for every learner review
- Milestone-aligned assessment data from structured practice sessions
- Longitudinal progress tracking across the remediation period
- Objective data to complement faculty observations
Medical School & UME Leadership
Sequence communication across all four years
- A four-year arc from history-taking to diagnosis disclosure
- Unlimited practice between standardized-patient encounters
- A dashboard that follows each student through clerkships
Faculty & Clinician Educators
Practice the conversations faculty are expected to model
- Rehearse giving difficult, specific feedback
- Navigate professionalism conversations with peers
- The same rubric system that trains residents
Ready to close the communication gap?
See how ClinicalSim helps your learners and faculty practice the conversations that matter most.
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