2025 Annual Report

2025 was a year of momentum and meaningful expansion for VitalTalk—set against a complex and shifting healthcare landscape. As demand for high-quality communication skills training continued to grow, we expanded access to our trainings and met clinicians where they are. This included offering flexible, self-paced learning formats, and developing specialty-specific courses tailored to different clinical settings. We launched new online courses, piloted specialized Mastering Tough Conversations training for pediatric and emergency medicine settings, deepened institutional partnerships, and introduced our first Faculty Development Scholarship Pilot to reduce financial barriers to participation. Across these efforts, our focus remained clear: broaden access, advance equity, and equip clinicians with practical, evidence-based tools for the conversations that matter most. As we look ahead, we are building on this foundation to reach more clinicians, support more care teams, and strengthen communication as a core component of high-quality care.

a letter from vitaltalk's ceo: lynsey seabrook

2025 was not an easy year for healthcare—or for those of us committed to advancing it.

Our clinical community reported significant uncertainty. The wider landscape shifted in ways that challenged trust in science, strained health systems, and created new barriers for clinicians and patients alike. In response, and to support our clinicians and institutions, it reminded us that there is no better time to double down on our strategic focus to broaden access to our educational offerings and to apply our foundational, evidence-based content to all clinicians who care for the most vulnerable populations.

In response to the shifting landscape, we didn’t pull back. We expanded.

We deepened partnerships with institutions like Fox Chase Cancer Center and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s nursing oncology program, working side by side to strengthen clinicians’ ability to navigate the most difficult conversations in medicine. We launched a new course focused on caring for patients with substance use disorder—meeting a growing need with empathy and practical skill. And alongside our faculty leaders, we adapted our seminal training for pediatrics and emergency medicine, ensuring that our work continues to evolve with the realities clinicians face every day.

At the same time, we made a clear and intentional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion—not as an initiative, but as a core part of how we grow. Even in a challenging environment, we continued to build programs that reflect and serve the full diversity of patients and clinicians.

And we built.

We expanded our suite of products and services in ways that are already opening doors to new audiences—places we could not have reached before. That work matters. It is how we scale impact. It is how we ensure that more clinicians, across more settings, have access to the skills they need.

If 2025 proved anything, it’s this: our hard work is paying off.

We enter 2026 with momentum—and with confidence.

We recently achieved joint accreditation that now includes social work, alongside physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. This milestone brings us closer to a fully interdisciplinary future, where entire care teams are equipped to communicate with skill and compassion.

We are investing in what comes next—integrating artificial intelligence into our courses, beginning with nursing. This is about more than innovation for its own sake. It is about expanding access, personalizing learning, and reaching clinicians in new ways.

We are shaping a future where communication is viewed not just as a soft skill, but as a vital clinical skill and intervention. Every clinician will be prepared for the moments that matter most, and every patient will receive clarity, compassion, and respect.

2025 tested all of us in healthcare.

2026 is where we accelerate.

Regards,

Lynsey Seabrook

A Big Year for new content: Our 2025 online course Releases

In 2025, VitalTalk expanded access to high-quality communication skills training through the release of three new asynchronous courses. Designed to meet clinicians where they are, these offerings deliver practical, evidence-based tools that support confident, compassionate conversations across a range of clinical settings.

Best Case Worst Case

Developed in collaboration with Dr. Gretchen Schwarze, Best Case Worst Case prepares clinicians to navigate high-stakes treatment and surgical decision-making conversations with clarity, empathy, and structure. The course introduces a practical framework for discussing best, most likely, and worst outcomes, helping patients and families understand uncertainty and make informed choices aligned with their values.

Discussing Clinical Status (Peds/Nurse)

Designed specifically for pediatric clinicians and nurses, these single-module courses teach learners how to assess what patients and families already understand, give a meaningful headline, and respond to emotion with empathy and clarity. Through evidence-based demonstrations and interactive practice, clinicians build confidence and competence in navigating sensitive and emotionally charged conversations.

Conversations That Matter: Engaging Patients Around Pain & Substance Use

This course equips clinicians with practical communication skills to lead respectful, effective dialogue about pain and substance use. Across three modules, learners strengthen their ability to address substance-use concerns, explain evolving treatment plans, and explore next steps in ways that reduce stigma, set clear limits, and maintain the patient–clinician relationship.

Faculty Development Scholarship Program Pilot

In Fall 2025, VitalTalk launched a Faculty Development Scholarship Pilot to expand access to Virtual Faculty Development courses and reduce financial barriers for clinicians committed to teaching communication skills. In response to significant demand, the pilot received more than 60 applications and awarded 12 scholarships across three course cohorts, supporting educators from safety-net institutions, historically marginalized groups, and professions with limited access to continuing education funding. With the support of new donor contributions, VitalTalk is building on this momentum in 2026 by further developing the scholarship program and expanding support to include both Mastering Tough Conversations and Faculty Development, strengthening access to communication skills training across the healthcare workforce.

Mastering Tough Conversations Specialized: PedsTalk and EMTalk Pilots

In 2025, VitalTalk piloted two specialty Mastering Tough Conversations courses—PedsTalk and EMTalk—to meet the communication challenges unique to pediatric and emergency medicine settings. Both pilots were enthusiastically received by learners and faculty leaders, who valued the tailored frameworks and practical exercises that helped clinicians navigate serious, time-sensitive conversations with confidence and empathy. The strong engagement and positive feedback from participants affirmed the need for specialty-focused skills training, and in response, VitalTalk will offer PedsTalk and EMTalk again in the coming year, continuing to support clinicians with targeted communication education when conversations matter most.

Partnerships with Leading Cancer Centers

In 2025, VitalTalk partnered with leading cancer centers to co-create custom communication skills training tailored to the needs of their learners. These collaborations combined VitalTalk’s evidence-based frameworks with institution-specific priorities, resulting in scalable, high-impact educational offerings that support clinicians, patients, and families.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Communication Skills for Nurses: Supporting Patients & Families

A tailored two-module course that equips nurses with practical communication strategies to respond with empathy, build trust, and support patients and caregivers in sharing what matters most. the course is available for large-scale institutional implementation, supporting consistent, high-quality communication training across nursing teams.

Fox Chase Cancer Center –

Informed Conversations Skills for Clinical Trial Discussions

A specialty communication skills course to support clinicians in conversations about clinical trials – providing practical frameworks for explaining trial options, responding to questions and concerns with clarity and empathy, and helping patients and families make informed, values-based decisions. This course is available for open enrollment on the VitalTalk website.

9185

healthcare providers were taught in 2025. This is 16% more learners than in 2024. To date, VitalTalk has taught 57,884 providers to communicate more effectively and compassionately.

Learners taught by course type in 2025

595

Learners taught in our Online asynchronous courses. In this courses, learners watch videos, identify common pitfalls with patients, and learn the skills to avoid them. In 2025 we introduced 5 new online courses.

331

Learners taught in our Mastering Tough Conversations courses. In these courses learners practice role play with simulated patients for deep experiential learning.

150

Learners taught in our Faculty Development courses. In these courses learners become licensed to teach the VitalTalk curriculum at their own institutions. Our total number of faculty members is now 1,592.

total live courses taught in 2025

VitalTalk continued to deliver high-impact live training through Mastering Tough Conversations and Faculty Development, equipping healthcare professionals with essential communication and teaching skills. Our national faculty community remains central to this model, leading institutional courses and bringing evidence-based, practice-driven training to diverse clinical settings. We are strengthening Faculty Development through improvements to our virtual courses and expansion of in-person programs into new locations to broaden our reach and accessibility in the years ahead.

27 Mastering Tough Conversations Courses

8 Train the Trainer Courses

665 Courses Taught by VitalTalk Faculty (206 virtual courses | 459 in-person courses)

learners taught by vitaltalk faculty in 2025

VitalTalk faculty deliver in-person and virtual communication skills courses at their home institutions using VitalTalk’s evidence-based pedagogy, frameworks, and modules. These trainings equip clinicians across specialties with practical skills to navigate difficult clinical conversations, using experiential learning with simulated patients.

7893

learners taught by our Faculty in 2025.

By comparison, in 2024 VitalTalk faculty taught 6,336 learners in 601 courses.

institutions by learner taught in 2025

VitalTalk faculty work at 408 healthcare institutions around the globe. These faculty teach live communication courses to healthcare providers at their home institutions. Listed below are the top 10 institutions by learners taught in live courses: