Award Winners

2026 Dr Leon Carp Award Winner

Dr Simone Craig

Dr Simone Craig is currently working as a General Practitioner at Andrew Place Clinic in Bundoora as well as managing the Victorian Government's Doctors in Secondary Schools (DiSS) program within the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at The University of Melbourne.  Simone is passionate about working with young people, supporting diverse and vulnerable populations, preventative care, sexual and reproductive health, mental health and wellbeing.

About Simone's Research

Developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed and culturally-safe adolescent consultations begin with engagement, addressing confidentiality, and once rapport is gained, progress from less to more sensitive topics such as psychological and sexual health, substance use, body image and identity, safety and abuse.

Current experiential methods for upskilling clinicians in youth-appropriate care involves practicing with trained adolescent actors in a simulated consultation. Although this method is highly rated, it requires a high degree of support from educators to select, train and support adolescent actors. There are also potential risks of psychological harm if the adolescents are inadequately supported.

Simone's research will design, test and evaluate a novel communication skills training tool, called “Y-Sim". “Y-Sim” is a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) "chatbot" system featuring a virtual adolescent patient and virtual educator. The chatbots will be co-designed with adolescents (aged 16-24) and clinicians skilled in adolescent medicine practice and teaching.

GPs participating in the trial will use the “Y-Sim” tool in a simulated consultation to take a biopsychosocial history from a youth chatbot, identifying risk and protective factors and obtaining performance feedback from an educator chatbot.

This project addresses two research gaps: whether a GenAI chatbot tool is a suitable simulation training tool for primary care clinicians; and whether involving adolescents in the co-design will increase appropriateness, authenticity and learning impact.

Prof Lena Sanci will be providing supervision and support for Simone's research project.

Fun Facts

When she is not working, you will find Simone hanging out with her loved ones, running, riding or coaxing fruit and vegies out of her garden.