Teaching Clinical Communication Skills Through virtual patient-based Learning: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews

Background Effective clinical communication is a core component of patient-centered care. Immersive learning technologies, including virtual patients, virtual reality, and augmented reality, are increasingly used to train clinical communication skills in undergraduate health professions education. However, the existing evidence is fragmented and methodologically heterogeneous. This umbrella review synthesizes evidence on the effectiveness of immersive technologies and virtual patients for developing clinical communication skills in undergraduate medical and healthcare students and explores barriers to curricular integration and research gaps. Methods An umbrella review of systematic reviews (with or without meta-analysis) was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Searches were performed in PubMed, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. Eligible reviews examined immersive technologies (e.g., VR, AR, MR, XR, virtual patients) targeting clinical communication skills in undergraduate learners. Methodological quality was assessed using AMSTAR-2. No pooled meta-analysis was possible due to heterogeneity in interventions, comparators, and outcome measures. Results Nine systematic reviews were included. All were rated as critically low in methodological quality according to AMSTAR-2, limiting certainty of conclusions. Across reviews, immersive technologies showed promising short-term gains in communication performance, learner engagement, and perceived confidence compared to no intervention or traditional teaching. However, evidence for long-term retention, empathy development, non-verbal communication, and transfer to clinical practice was inconsistent. Heterogeneity in intervention design, outcome measures, and feedback structures reduced comparability and generalizability.