When Pedagogical and Medical Care Meet Through Artificial Intelligence: A ChatGPT-Based Training Proposal for Medical Students

Doctor-patient communication is now recognized as a key component of effective, human-centered healthcare. Nevertheless, medical education still tends to prioritize technical expertise over communicative competence, leaving many students unprepared for the complexity of clinical interactions. This article presents a pedagogical project developed within the Didactics and Special Pedagogy course at the University of Genoa, aimed at fourth-year medical students. The program combines the concept of pedagogical care with the use of generative artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, as a reflective tool for communication training. Over ten hours of integrated activities (lectures, AI-supported case studies, group discussions, and role-play exercises) students’ communicative self-efficacy is assessed through the ME-CO questionnaire. We suggest that ChatGPT can act as a catalyst for reflective practice, helping students compare their communicative strategies with algorithmic suggestions and deepen their awareness of empathy, listening, and the human dimension of care.