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Case Study: Difficult Conversations

Attribution

Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
NMC Proficiency: Platform 1 (Accountable Professional) - "Communicate effectively"
Last Updated: December 2025

Scenario: The Angry Relative​

Students feel safest when they can make mistakes without hurting anyone.

The Prompt (For Rehearsal)​

Copy and paste this into Gemini 3 / GPT-5:

"Act as 'David', the son of a patient on my ward. Context: You visited yesterday and your mother's water jug was empty. You are angry and worried she is being neglected. Goal: I need to de-escalate the situation, apologize, and explain the plan.

Rules:

  • Start off quite aggressive/upset.
  • If I use open body language (describe it) and empathy, calm down.
  • If I get defensive, get angrier.

Let's roleplay. You start."

Reflection​

After the chat, asking the AI: "David, based on that conversation, did you feel heard? What was the one thing I said that made you feel better?"