Building an AI Client for Veterinary Communication Practice/Training

Getting Started with BoodleBox AI

When designing online learning experiences, I often think about real needs, pain points that learners actually face. One such moment came unexpectedly during my daily phone calls with my sister when she was a veterinary student. These conversations often mirrored a one-way podcast: she’d talk non-stop about her classes, rounds, and stress, and I’d just listen.

But listening closely revealed something valuable. A recurring challenge she and her classmates faced was communicating effectively in clinical settings. In her final year, students go through clinical rounds that mimic externships. It’s a transitional period where they must apply their academic knowledge to real-world scenarios. One major milestone was a graded communication assessment where students meet with professors to demonstrate their ability to explain complex medical situations to clients. It’s high stakes: one chance to prove their readiness for the field.

To support my sister and her peers, I designed an asynchronous, remote communication simulation (also for my course). It was tailored for use at any time, allowing them to practice difficult scenarios without judgment or pressure.

One example involved a fictional situation where a farmer contacts the vet about an outbreak of Maedi-Visna disease in their sheep stock. The student’s task was to engage in a conversation with the client: explaining the nature of the disease, its contagious spread, and the importance of vaccination, all while maintaining empathy and clarity.

BoodleBox AI Farmer/Simulated Client

I used BoodleBox as the foundation for this simulation. After customizing the AI bot with veterinary-specific communication protocols, I uploaded a dataset of challenging real-world scenarios that students often struggle with. These were curated from existing vet school materials and insights from student feedback. The bot was trained to not only roleplay client conversations but also respond in a way that tested both empathy and clinical reasoning. I gave the bot explicit instructions on tone, pacing, and key vocabulary, making it a flexible tool that mimicked a real client interaction.

I invited my sister and a few of her classmates to try it. Immediately, their faces lit up. They were excited to finally practice communication without the fear of being graded (or judged). Afterward, I conducted informal interviews to learn how the tool felt, whether it was useful, and if it supported or hindered their learning.

This experience reminded me of how online learning tools (when designed around real user struggles) can fill critical gaps in professional preparation. Especially in emotionally charged and high-stakes fields like veterinary medicine, students need more than knowledge; they need practice, empathy, and confidence.

And sometimes, that begins with just listening.