Leveraging AI simulations for enhancing cultural responsiveness and interprofessional collaboration in health professions education

Aim: This project leverages AI-driven simulation to create immersive, culturally rich learning experiences that foster students’ development of cultural competence and interprofessional collaboration skills. Background: Cultural competence and interprofessional collaboration are essential skills for future clinicians, yet traditional teaching methods often fall short in providing immersive, patient-centred learning experiences. AI-driven simulations offer a promising way to bridge this gap by creating realistic, interactive scenarios that engage students in meaningful, culturally nuanced clinical encounters. Design/Methods: This project introduced Aalia, an AI-driven simulation featuring a 32 year-old Middle Eastern woman navigating the Italian healthcare system, delivered via a platform called ATLAS. Conducted in a synchronous 45-minute Zoom session, the simulation engaged over 130 health professions students and 20 educators from four countries. Working in interprofessional teams across ten breakout rooms, students interacted with Aalia through over 350 conversations and received automated feedback via ATLAS to support reflection and skill development. Results: Evaluation results showed strong student agreement on the simulation's value, with 94 % expressing interest in future AI simulations and 91 % reporting improved understanding of empathy in care. Simulate effectiveness was highly rated, notably, 89 % found the simulation realistic and engaging, 90 % engaging and 88 % felt it increased their confidence in providing culturally responsive healthcare. Interestingly, 67 % appreciated AI-generated feedback as more tolerable compared to teacher-given feedback. Conclusions: Aalia's narrative provided a high-quality and authentic virtual environment for practising culturally responsive, collaborative care. This AI-driven simulation reinforced teamwork as essential in professional practice. Educators found it effective and easy to use, with significant potential for wider application.