Field
Medicine
Project Description
The goal of this project is to develop and test an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven communication skills training module, the AI-based interactive Humanism E-Learning Program (AI-iHELP), where healthcare professionals and trainees can interact with virtual simulated patients (VSPs) to rehearse empathic and compassionate communication skills. By incorporating generative AI tools, AI-iHELP can adapt to learner responses and customize feedback in real-time, enabling scalability and cost-effective, asynchronous and accessible training. We will measure acceptability and usability for this novel training tool, assess empathy and communication skills across three scenarios, and examine the impact on real-life patient interactions and provider burnout scores before and after training. By providing hands-on practice and mindful reflection, we hope that AI-iHELP will help healthcare professionals and trainees better connect with their patients and have caring conversations that make the encounter a better experience for both parties.
Team
Yue-Ming Huang, Andrew Shaner, Rachel Dajani, Daniel Fessler, Ashley Ingram-T’Siobbel, Ken Lay, Lillian Gelberg, Jennifer B. Plotkin, Sae Takada, Dan Weisman, Shimona Gupta
Yue-Ming Huang, EdD, MHS, FSSH is an Adjunct Professor of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine and the Executive Director of the UCLA Simulation Center. As a Fellow of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare with over 24 years of experience developing experiential training for healthcare professionals, a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer, and a recipient of the Kaiser-Permanente Award for Excellence in Teaching, Dr. Huang is dedicated to researching how simulation can accelerate skills acquisition and cultivate a safer and kinder learning culture centered around teamwork and communication.
Andrew Shaner, MD is Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Staff Psychiatrist for the Homeless Patient-Aligned Care Team (HPACT) at the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center. At the clinic, he helps lead an interprofessional training program for nurse practitioners and residents in internal medicine, pharmacy, social work, psychology, and psychiatry. His research now focuses on new ways to help clinicians remain compassionate in challenging situations.
Rachel Dajani MD, MPH is an Internal Medicine physician at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, where she provides primary care to patients in the Homeless Patient-Aligned Care Team clinic and Women’s Health Comprehensive Care clinic at the West Los Angeles VA. Dr. Dajani is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Daniel Fessler, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology who examines contemporary behavior and health in light of our species’ evolutionary history. His interests include emotion, morality, cooperation, and aggression.
Ashley Ingram-T’Siobbel, DNP, FNP-C, is a primary care nurse practitioner with over 15 years of experience, currently working at Veterans Health Administration-Clinical Resource Hub. She has a special interest in health literacy, plain language, and humanistic healthcare, and provides workshops and educational sessions on health communication for students, residents, and clinical colleagues.
Ken Lay, MA is the Director of the Standardized Patient (SP) Program and has led a team of SP Educators and SPs (professional actors role playing patient and family members) since joining UCLA in 2016. He is also a writer, with one published novel, as well as a stage play currently in production at the community theater level.
Lillian Gelberg, MD, MSPH is a family physician and health services researcher, and professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and Office of Healthcare Transformation and Innovation at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Further, she is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians.
Jennifer B. Plotkin, MD is a primary care physician and hospitalist at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Her interests include empathic communication, vulnerability in medicine, and medical education.
Sae Takada, MD, PhD, MHS, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, Department of Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Her research focuses on health system interventions to address health disparities. She is a HIV primary care provider at Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.
Carole Warde, MD is currently a Certified Life Coach with the Better Together Coaching Program that targets medical trainees and faculty across the United States. She has over 35 years of experience as a General Internist and Medical Educator with expertise in relationship-centered care and leadership, teamwork, interprofessional care and training, and curriculum development. She is a Clinical Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the David Geffen School of Medicine and an Advisory Board member of the Bedari Kindness Institute.
Dan Weisman, MFA is a Learning Experience Designer at the UCLA Simulation Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dan has extensive research experience developing innovative, technologically advanced learning experiences for medical education research projects. His work centers on exploring cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality, mixed reality, and AI and their potential to improve future medical education and training.
Shimona Gupta is a third-year Human Biology and Society major at UCLA and a pre-medical student. Her research interests lie at the intersection of medicine and socio-cultural factors, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies can enhance both patient care and medical education.