Assignments

Simulated Telephone Triage Calls

Rehearse telephone triage calls with an AI chatbot to practice clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and effectively address patient needs.

By Stacey Hobbick

Learning Objectives

  • Demonstrate the ability to apply clinical guidelines to ensure appropriate recommendations for patient care
    Refine your communication skills, focusing on clarity, empathy, and professionalism in addressing patient concerns
    Reflect on AI-provided feedback to improve your clinical practice and decision-making abilities

Instructions

This assignment is designed to offer pre-licensure nursing students a practical experience in telephone triage. It combines the use of advanced AI technology with the development of essential nursing skills, such as assessment, communication, and clinical judgment. The simulation encourages reflection on performance, fostering continuous learning and skill enhancement in preparation for real-world nursing scenarios.


Part 1: Engaging with ChatGPT (or an Equivalent AI Chatbot) for Simulation

For text-based interactions, navigate to the official ChatGPT website or search for it online. Log in or register as needed. For voice-based interactions, install the ChatGPT app by downloading it from the App Store or Google Play Store. Ensure it’s the version developed by OpenAI. Set up the voice feature by enabling voice interaction in the app settings and familiarize yourself with voice command activation. You are highly encouraged to engage in voice-based interactions for this exercise in order to enhance your comfort and proficiency with verbal telephone communication.

Conducting the Simulation

  1. Select a Scenario: Choose one scenario from the list of options provided below, which are designed to mimic everyday telephone triage situations.
  2. Prepare Resources: Have triage protocols, guidelines, textbooks, and any relevant online resources available for reference.
  3. Initiate Conversation: Type or verbally read the scenario prompt into ChatGPT and engage in the role-play as the triage nurse.
  4. Document Interaction: Record the conversation and write a reflective summary highlighting decision-making processes and areas for improvement. Students will submit the URL for their interaction with ChatGPT and their reflective summary.

Scenario Selection and Execution

  1. Scenario: “I’ve been having chest pain since this morning, and it’s getting worse. Can you help me?”
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “I am a nursing student conducting a telephone triage simulation. You will act as a patient experiencing chest pain since this morning that is getting worse, and you have called the telephone triage line to get advice. You have limited medical knowledge. I will respond to you as the triage nurse.”
  2. Scenario: “My child has a fever of 102°F, and I’m really worried. What should I do?”
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “I am a nursing student conducting a telephone triage simulation. You will act as a parent concerned about a child with a fever of 102°F who has limited medical knowledge and has called the telephone triage line for advice. I will respond as the triage nurse.”
  3. Scenario: “I fell and twisted my ankle. It’s swollen, and I can’t put weight on it. What’s the next step?”
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “I am a nursing student conducting a telephone triage simulation. You will act as a patient who has fallen and twisted an ankle, experiencing swelling and inability to put weight on it. You have limited medical knowledge and have called the telephone triage line for advice. I will respond as the triage nurse.”


Part 2: Self-Reflection and Critique

  1. After you have finished the simulation, reflect on your performance:
    • In what areas do you feel you have done well?
    • Were there particular instances you felt unsure about how to communicate back to the patient? Did you encounter any challenges in interpreting the patient’s symptoms and concerns?
    • How did you manage the use of triage protocols and guidelines during the interaction?
    • What do you think you could have improved?
  2. After you have finished the self-reflection, request feedback from the chatbot:
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “Please provide specific, detailed feedback on my effectiveness as a triage nurse during this simulation. Give a summary of what I did well and what I could have improved (in line with good triage practice).”

Using This Assignment

This assignment is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Learn more about what this license means, what you can and cannot do with this assignment, and how to properly attribute on our Using Our Content page.

Suggested Citation

Stacey Hobbick. Simulated Telephone Triage Calls. AI Pedagogy Project. https://aipedagogy.org/assignment/simulated-telephone-triage-calls/. Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Related Assignments

Map a Moment: Reflecting on AI Experiences

By Beck Tench, Dan Be Kim, & Rotem Landesman

Prompt students to reflect on AI use: how they used it, how it felt, and what they learned.

View assignment

Align on the Line: Making Ethical Lines Visible

By Beck Tench & Emily Weinstein

Encourage students and teachers to align on acceptable AI use for different classes or assignments by surfacing ethically gray areas and mapping them together.

View assignment

Simulated Telephone Triage Calls

By Stacey Hobbick

Rehearse telephone triage calls with an AI chatbot to practice clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and effectively address patient needs.

https://aipedagogy.org/assignment/simulated-telephone-triage-calls/

Learning Objectives

  • Demonstrate the ability to apply clinical guidelines to ensure appropriate recommendations for patient care
    Refine your communication skills, focusing on clarity, empathy, and professionalism in addressing patient concerns
    Reflect on AI-provided feedback to improve your clinical practice and decision-making abilities

Instructions

This assignment is designed to offer pre-licensure nursing students a practical experience in telephone triage. It combines the use of advanced AI technology with the development of essential nursing skills, such as assessment, communication, and clinical judgment. The simulation encourages reflection on performance, fostering continuous learning and skill enhancement in preparation for real-world nursing scenarios.


Part 1: Engaging with ChatGPT (or an Equivalent AI Chatbot) for Simulation

For text-based interactions, navigate to the official ChatGPT website or search for it online. Log in or register as needed. For voice-based interactions, install the ChatGPT app by downloading it from the App Store or Google Play Store. Ensure it’s the version developed by OpenAI. Set up the voice feature by enabling voice interaction in the app settings and familiarize yourself with voice command activation. You are highly encouraged to engage in voice-based interactions for this exercise in order to enhance your comfort and proficiency with verbal telephone communication.

Conducting the Simulation

  1. Select a Scenario: Choose one scenario from the list of options provided below, which are designed to mimic everyday telephone triage situations.
  2. Prepare Resources: Have triage protocols, guidelines, textbooks, and any relevant online resources available for reference.
  3. Initiate Conversation: Type or verbally read the scenario prompt into ChatGPT and engage in the role-play as the triage nurse.
  4. Document Interaction: Record the conversation and write a reflective summary highlighting decision-making processes and areas for improvement. Students will submit the URL for their interaction with ChatGPT and their reflective summary.

Scenario Selection and Execution

  1. Scenario: “I’ve been having chest pain since this morning, and it’s getting worse. Can you help me?”
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “I am a nursing student conducting a telephone triage simulation. You will act as a patient experiencing chest pain since this morning that is getting worse, and you have called the telephone triage line to get advice. You have limited medical knowledge. I will respond to you as the triage nurse.”
  2. Scenario: “My child has a fever of 102°F, and I’m really worried. What should I do?”
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “I am a nursing student conducting a telephone triage simulation. You will act as a parent concerned about a child with a fever of 102°F who has limited medical knowledge and has called the telephone triage line for advice. I will respond as the triage nurse.”
  3. Scenario: “I fell and twisted my ankle. It’s swollen, and I can’t put weight on it. What’s the next step?”
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “I am a nursing student conducting a telephone triage simulation. You will act as a patient who has fallen and twisted an ankle, experiencing swelling and inability to put weight on it. You have limited medical knowledge and have called the telephone triage line for advice. I will respond as the triage nurse.”


Part 2: Self-Reflection and Critique

  1. After you have finished the simulation, reflect on your performance:
    • In what areas do you feel you have done well?
    • Were there particular instances you felt unsure about how to communicate back to the patient? Did you encounter any challenges in interpreting the patient’s symptoms and concerns?
    • How did you manage the use of triage protocols and guidelines during the interaction?
    • What do you think you could have improved?
  2. After you have finished the self-reflection, request feedback from the chatbot:
    • Please copy and paste or read this prompt into ChatGPT: “Please provide specific, detailed feedback on my effectiveness as a triage nurse during this simulation. Give a summary of what I did well and what I could have improved (in line with good triage practice).”