Health Sciences Education

Humanize Online Clinical Education

Self-paced learning is efficient and accessible for students and professionals; however, maintaining the human connection essential for developing empathy and clinical rapport can be difficult in text-heavy and click-heavy interactive environments. Using VoiceThread, Clinical Nurse Leader students "reported preferring VoiceThread discussions over written ones, noting that its use fostered a stronger sense of connection among online learners" (Fox, 2017).

Safe Clinical Reflection and Case-Based Learning

Each VoiceThread is a protected space for healthcare students to reflect on clinical experiences and analyze cases without the pressure of real-time performance. McMurray (2025) reported that in a fundamentals clinical skills lab: "Weekly VoiceThread discussions tied to lab prep readings increased engagement, accountability, and confidence. All students passed their clinical checkoffs on the first attempt."

Integrated Medical Teams Need Excellent Communication Skills

VoiceThread's asynchronous format mirrors the reality of healthcare communication - where professionals often communicate across shifts and departments. Thor et al. (2017) found in dental education that "VoiceThread use led to higher student engagement, deeper and more frequent discussion, and greater flexibility, with most questions showing higher-order thinking."

Image of a VoiceThread showing a conversation about an inguinal hernia surgical procedure

An image showing the commenting options for commenters within a VoiceThread. Text, Microphone, Webcam, or file upload

Accommodates all VARK Learning Styles in Clinical Training

Visual learners engage with slides and images; Auditory learners benefit from voice narrations; Read/Write learners add text comments; and Kinesthetic learners interact through the platform's drawing and annotation tools. This multimodal approach is particularly crucial in healthcare education where diverse learning preferences must be accommodated.

Document Clinical Reasoning for Competency Assessment

Unlike ephemeral classroom discussions, VoiceThread creates a reviewable record of students' clinical reasoning development. Stamps & Opton (2019) emphasized how "VoiceThread can be more effective at creating classroom community, encouraging social interaction, and promoting student engagement than traditional discussion boards" - while also providing assessable evidence of clinical thinking progression.

Pedagogical Salt

Adding VoiceThread to your teaching toolkit is a little like adding salt to your cooking. Whether the goal is:

Developing technical competence or humanistic care skills
Fostering interprofessional collaboration
Ensuring patient safety through thorough preparation
Meeting accreditation requirements for documented competency development

- VoiceThread helps you achieve all these goals efficiently

Thousands of the world's best learning institutions use VoiceThread to replace "clickety-click" with authentic human presence.

71%

Strongly agreed

"Hearing my peers improved my ability to reach the learning objectives".
59%

Strongly disagreed

With a preference for a traditional text based discussion board.
4.75 / 5

Student satisfaction

Student rating for improving the development of their oral and language skills.

Over 3,337 research articles cite VoiceThread's impact on teaching and learning

How can I get started?

Jump in

If you are new to VoiceThreading, you should register for a free account and explore the basics. The "aha!" moment usually arrives after making a rich comment and getting a response. Start with this simple exercise if you're new.

Get a demo

Start with an interactive demo. We'll build a custom VoiceThread demo for you, send it over, and then we can schedule a follow up meeting. It's an efficient way to start learning about specific features, affordances, workflows, use cases, integration options etc. Get one here.

Get a quote

If you are looking for an integrated institutional license with SSO login, formal stacking assignments that integrate with the LMS gradebook, automated account provisioning, analytics, institution wide security controls, and a customized SLA, request a quote here.