GP registrars to trial AI-supported simulated consultations

NEWS  - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners is trialling an AI-supported learning platform with a targeted group of GP registrars. 

The College is partnering with Gestalt, a New Zealand-built clinical reasoning platform, to test the tool with a select cohort of registrars, including a group of International Medical Graduates.  

Registrars will complete simulated consultations through Gestalt's platform and receive individualised feedback, creating additional opportunities for independent practice between their regular supervised sessions. 

College chief executive Toby Beaglehole says the pilot is focused on understanding where AI genuinely adds value to specialist general practice training, rather than assuming it does. 

"AI could give registrars more opportunities to practise and learn," Beaglehole says.  

"We need evidence that it works in the real training environment, and that it supports the standards and relationships at the heart of general practice. 

"This pilot will show us where the technology helps, where it does not, and what safe, useful adoption looks like." 

Gestalt co-founder, chief executive and college fellow Alastair Dunne says the platform is built to extend and amplify the learning that medical educators already provide. 

"Practice, feedback and reflection are critical to developing clinical skills," Dunne says.  

"This partnership will test how AI can give learners more of those opportunities alongside established education programmes." 

The platform has been built on a proprietary medical knowledge graph covering around 3,000 medical conditions and more than 500,000 interlinking terms. 

Dunne tells eHealthNews it was built to simulate patient consultations, giving medical students a low-stakes environment to practise clinical reasoning. The College saw the potential of simulated consultation practice for its registrars, noting that they have different learning needs from undergraduate students. 

“We have also built an educator overview for the College facilitators to track the learning needs of their groups, helping them better target their facilitated sessions,” he says. 

Dunne says the tool is designed to supplement, not replace, clinical placements as well as amplify and not replace educators.   

Following the pilot, the College will assess registrar engagement, user experience and educator feedback before deciding whether AI-supported learning should have a wider role in its training programmes.  
Image: College chief executive Toby Beaglehole

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