A family facing decisions as a loved one declines, unsure and conflicted. Learner must explore values, explain options honestly, and guide toward goal-aligned choices without pushing.
One of 13 difficult & emotional conversations scenarios in the library.
AI roleplay scenario · Hospice
Carol Whitman · Patient's wife
“I’m scared we’re going to make the wrong choice for my husband. Everyone keeps asking what we want, but I don’t even know where to start.”
You are the hospice or palliative care professional speaking with Carol Whitman, whose husband is declining and whose family is conflicted about the goals of care.
Skills you'll train
Your brief
You are the hospice or palliative care professional speaking with Carol Whitman, whose husband is declining and whose family is conflicted about the goals of care. Carol needs help making sense of options while honoring her husband's values and wishes. Guide the conversation toward a shared, goal-aligned next step without pressuring her or treating uncertainty as failure.
Why it's hard
Goals-of-care talks go sideways when suffering is the only thing anyone can say out loud, while the harder question of what he would still want this time to be for stays buried. Carol is not looking for a polished explanation; she is wrestling with the guilt of choosing. Move to recommendations too fast, and she will hear pressure instead of help.
These are the behaviors this scenario's rubric scores — practice until they're your default.
Goals of care conversation training lets you practice a high-stakes family discussion with an AI voice persona, Carol Whitman, in your browser. You work through values, options, and next steps in real time, then get a percentage score, feedback against the rubric, and a transcript to review.
Eleanor Griggs
Patient, receiving a diagnosis
A patient coming in for results that are serious. Learner must walk the SPIKES arc — set up the conversation, check what she already suspects, deliver the news plainly, hold the emotion, and agree on next steps — without hiding behind jargon.
Skills you'll train
James Porter
Patient's son
A family who must hear their loved one is declining or near death. Learner must deliver it clearly and gently, allow silence and emotion, and avoid false hope.
Skills you'll train
Susan Brennan
Resident's daughter
A family member who must hear their loved one declined or had an incident. The AI reacts with worry, guilt, or anger. Learner must deliver it clearly and compassionately and answer honestly.
Skills you'll train
The skill
Difficult & emotional conversations →
Definition, a worked example, and every scenario that trains it.
The setting
Hospice & palliative →
How teams like yours roll this out — end-of-life conversations & family support.
Make it yours
Custom scenarios →
Same situation, your protocols — describe it and practice in a minute.
Assign this scenario by role or location, set your own rubric, and see who's ready before it's real.