College of GPs and Gestalt trial AI-powered practice for future GPs

GP registrars will test AI-supported simulated consultations in a new pilot designed to give them more opportunities to practise safely, receive timely feedback and build confidence.

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) is partnering with Gestalt to trial the New Zealand-developed tool with a targeted group of registrars, including a cohort of International Medical Graduates.

College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole says the pilot will test where AI adds genuine value to specialist general practice training, while keeping educators, clinical judgement and human connection at its core.

"AI could give registrars more opportunities to practise and learn. We need evidence that it works in the real training environment, and that it supports the standards and relationships at the heart of general practice," Mr Beaglehole says.

"This pilot will show us where the technology helps, where it does not, and what safe, useful adoption looks like."

Registrars will complete simulated consultations on Gestalt’s platform and receive individualised feedback, creating additional opportunities for independent practice between facilitated sessions.

Gestalt Co-Founder, Chief Executive and College Fellow Dr Alastair Dunne says the platform is designed to extend the learning already provided by medical educators.

"Practice, feedback and reflection are critical to developing clinical skills," Dr Dunne says. "This partnership will test how AI can give learners more of those opportunities alongside established education programmes."

The College will assess registrar engagement, user experience and educator feedback before deciding whether AI-supported learning should have a wider role in its training programmes.

About the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners is the professional body and postgraduate training organisation for specialist general practitioners and rural hospital doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand. The College works to support a skilled, sustainable and equitable primary care workforce for the benefit of patients, whānau and communities.

About Gestalt

Gestalt is a New Zealand-built clinical reasoning practice platform that helps medical learners rehearse consultations with simulated patients, work through differential diagnoses, and receive structured feedback grounded in clinical sources. Designed as a supplementary learning tool for medical schools and training providers, Gestalt aims to give learners more safe, repeatable opportunities to practise clinical reasoning between supervised teaching sessions and clinical placements.