PO:12:327 AI-enhanced social robotic versus computer-based virtual patients: a quantitative comparison of self-perceived clinical reasoning in undergraduate medical education

Objectives To quantitatively compare virtual patient (VP) design elements that support clinical reasoning (CR) training for medical students between an AI-enhanced social robotic VP platform and a conventional computer-based VP platform in rheumatology.Methods We conducted a randomised cross-over trial involving 178 sixth-semester medical students at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden during clinical rotations in rheumatology. Students experienced a social robotic VP platform with an integrated large language model to support dialogue (SARI) and a conventional computer-based VP platform (VIC) during CR training sessions. VP design was evaluated using a validated questionnaire. Student preferences for CR training were assessed using categorical responses and a visual analogue scale.Results SARI demonstrated significant superiority over VIC across multiple domains of VP design. Students rated SARI higher for authenticity of patient encounters (median [IQR]: 4.0 [3.5–4.5] versus 3.0 [2.5–3.5]; p