Part one: for students

4. Preparing for a conversation

Every conversation starts on the Prepare page. Nothing you do here uses minutes: take the time to read the brief and check your microphone.

4.1 Opening a case

On Cases, press Prepare on a patient’s card. The Prepare page opens with “Step 1 of 2: Prepare” at the top 1: the conversation is step 2.

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On a wide screen the page has two columns: the brief 2 on the left and the panel with your settings 3 on the right. On a narrower window or a phone, the panel comes before the brief. The Start bar 4 stays at the bottom of the window.

4.2 The brief

The brief is the handout your course staff wrote for this patient. It tells you your role, the setting, what you should find out and how long you have. Read all of it before you start: the patient answers as the person it describes, and expects you to behave as the role it gives you.

If your conversation is in the other language than the brief was written in, a note says “Elvyn translated this handout from the original written by course staff.”

Some patients have a briefing clip, a short video about this conversation, above the brief. It opens in a player over the page; press Escape or the close button to return.

4.3 Language and microphone

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Conversation language 1 sets the language the patient speaks and expects: English or Français. It starts on the language of your screens. You can choose either, whatever the language of the brief.

Microphone 2 sets how the patient hears you:

• Open microphone: talk naturally. The patient listens all the time and answers when you pause. You can mute during the conversation.
• Push to talk: the patient hears you only while you hold the talk button. Use it in a noisy place, or if the patient keeps answering before you finish.

4.4 The microphone test

Press Test microphone and say a few words. Your browser asks for permission to use the microphone the first time: allow it. The level bar moves while you speak, and the status 3 changes:

Test again 4 runs the test once more. The test runs in your browser only. Nothing is sent or recorded.

4.5 Keeping the conversation, and memory

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Keep this conversation 1 decides whether there will be a transcript. The line under it 2 says how many days the conversation is kept and whether course staff can read it. Turn it off and the line reads “Not kept: there will be no transcript.” The details are in 3.3.3 Keep this conversation.

When the platform allows patient memory, a second switch appears 3: Let patients remember your earlier conversations. It is your saved choice for every patient, not only this one. It works only while Keep this conversation is on. See 3.4 Patient memory.

4.6 The three statements

Under Before you start, tick the three statements:

1. I understand this is an AI-generated simulation and may contain inaccurate or unexpected responses.
2. I will not share real patient information or other sensitive personal information.
3. I understand that I can end the simulation at any time.

You confirm them before each conversation.

4.7 The Start bar

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The Start bar stays at the bottom of the page. It counts what is left to do: the microphone test and each of the three statements 1 count as one step, so it starts at “4 steps left”. In the figure the test is done and one statement is ticked, so it says “2 steps left” 2.

• Show me 3 scrolls to the next step still missing and puts the focus on it.
• When everything is done the bar says “Ready. The clock starts when Leah connects.” and Start conversation 4 becomes available.

Next to the button, one line says how much of your time this conversation can take, for example “This conversation can use up to 5 min of your 10 min.” It is the length on the case card, out of your conversation time left (see 3.2.2 Why a conversation can be shorter than your conversation time).

Press Start conversation. The button shows “Starting…” while Elvyn reserves your time and asks the avatar service for a connection, then the conversation opens.

4.7.1 When Start does not work