AI-Powered OSCE Coaching in Improving Infertility Counseling Skills in Nursing Students

This randomized controlled experimental study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a generative artificial intelligence-based "OSCE Coach" in improving infertility counseling communication and empathy skills among nursing students. The study will be conducted with undergraduate nursing students at Bartın University Faculty of Health Sciences and follows a two-group pretest-posttest design.

A total of 96 students will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group using computer-generated randomization. The intervention group will participate in an AI-powered OSCE coaching simulation consisting of 6-8 infertility counseling micro-scenarios, incorporating structured feedback and deliberate practice cycles. The control group will receive conventional infertility counseling education using standard teaching methods.

Outcomes will be assessed using the Therapeutic Communication Skills Scale for Nursing Students, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Nursing Students, and a rubric-based infertility counseling communication performance assessment based on the Kalamazoo Consensus Statement. Performance evaluations will be conducted via standardized virtual patient interviews and scored by two blinded independent raters.

Data will be analyzed using ANCOVA to assess intervention effects while controlling for baseline scores. This study aims to contribute evidence on the effectiveness of AI-supported OSCE coaching in enhancing communication and empathy skills in nursing education.