For clinicians and health coaches
Keep your MI sharp between trainings
You learned OARS in a workshop. A few busy clinic weeks later, you're asking three closed questions in a row again. Practice with fictional patients, five minutes at a time.
Free for learners · Runs in your browser
Sample drill · OARS
A family physician, with a 52-year-old overnight warehouse supervisor who came in about headaches
PatientI get home at seven, the house is loud, my phone's going off. I'm lucky if I get four hours. But I'm not taking a sleeping pill. I've seen what that does to people.
Which response is a complex reflection?
- You're getting about four hours.
- You're running on fumes, and whatever helps has to be something you trust.
- Have you tried blackout curtains and putting your phone in another room?
- Sleeping pills aren't the only option, you know.
This goes past the facts to what's underneath: how worn down he is, and what matters to him about any fix.
She waited fifty minutes past her appointment
“Fifty minutes. And let me guess, you're going to tell me to quit smoking. The last one didn't even look up from the computer.”
Joanne is here about a cough that has lasted a month. Her chart says a pack a day, and a note from two years ago reads “counseled re: cessation, pt declined.” You're seeing her for the first time.
The fast move is to tell her to quit, and she has told you how that went last time. The role-play asks you to repair the visit first. If she's willing after that, you explore her own reasons.
What the debrief shows you
After a role-play you get a count of your open and closed questions and your simple and complex reflections. The chart traces how open the patient was after each reply, and the coach picks one thing to try next time.
One possible MI-consistent response
It sounds like there's a lot on your plate, and part of you isn't sure this is the right time to talk about it.
8 weeks that fit a clinic day
Medication, smoking, drinking, and diabetes conversations that fit in a 15-minute visit. Each week has short lessons and drills, with a role-play from week 3 on. A week takes 8 to 39 minutes.
MI for Clinicians
8 weeks
- Week 1: OverviewWhat MI is, why it works, and what it can do for you as a clinician.
- Week 2: Spirit of MIGuiding, directing, and following, and your role when you wear the MI hat.
- 3Week 3: Engaging and OARSBuild rapport in the first few minutes with the four core skills.
- 4Week 4: FocusingMany problems, one visit. Agree on where to start.
- 5Week 5: Evoking IRecognize and respond to change talk and sustain talk.
Three more patients on your schedule
Every patient is fictional, with a history you won't see until you ask about it.
“Hey! Okay, so I've never actually done one of these annual things as an adult, and I made a list. Is it weird that I made a list?”
Tomás Herrera
Patient, 31, middle school PE teacher and soccer coach
I made a list · Intro
“I answered your form honestly, and now I'm getting the look. For the record, most people I know drink more than I do.”
Priya Raman
Patient, 39, corporate attorney
I answered honestly · Intermediate
“Let me guess. The number's up and you've got a handout for me. I've got a whole drawer of them at home.”
Darlene Mott
Patient, 56, runs the kitchen at an elementary school
A drawer full of handouts · Intermediate
Clinical questions
Does it give medical advice?
No. It coaches the conversation. Feedback covers how you asked, reflected, and shared information, and leaves doses and guidelines to you.
Has the clinical content been reviewed?
Not yet. The patient drills and role-plays are drafts waiting on review by an MI trainer. Use them as practice material, and keep using your own clinical guidance.
Does it count toward CE or CME credit?
No. Affirming Antelope isn't an accredited course. Use it to keep practicing between the trainings that award credit.
Should I type in real patient details?
No. Every scenario is fictional, and an AI model reads your replies to play the patient and write feedback. Keep real patient and colleague information out of it.
What does it cost?
Free for learners. Cohort pilots for trainers and teams: book a 30-minute call. You can start as a guest, with no card.
One drill before clinic
Open it in your browser and do one drill. If it helps, do another tomorrow.
Free for learners · Runs in your browser
Leading a training? Book a 30-minute call (opens in a new tab)
“Before you start, I know what the machine said. I feel fine. Honestly, I feel better than I did on that pill.”