Across two residency programs, intern orientation pilots with DDx revealed something programs don't often get: objective, actionable data on where each resident stands before it matters most.
More than 90% of residents reported they would continue using DDx after completing just five cases integrated into their intern bootcamp.
The challenge: Uneven experience on day one
The first week of residency is one of the most consequential moments in a physician's career. Interns step into clinical settings carrying the knowledge of medical school, but not always the same hands-on experience. They've studied the same textbooks, but they haven't all seen the same patients.
That gap shows up fast. And residency program directors feel it immediately.
Two programs decided to tackle this problem head-on by embedding DDx into their intern orientation and bootcamp week. What they both determined is changing how they think about day one readiness.
How did they improve?
Over 25 residents between Indiana Ascension St. Vincent Internal Medicine Residency and UC Irvine's Emergency Medicine Residency, implemented DDx by Sketchy. These programs had residents complete five residency level cases where they worked at their own pace to simulate everything from patient interviews and differential diagnosis to test ordering and patient management.
Both pilots shared the same two goals: prepare residents for real clinical encounters, and surface knowledge gaps early before those gaps had a chance to compound in real patient care.
The results: Meaningful confidence gains — fast
The data told a clear story at both programs. After just one week of DDx cases, residents at Indiana Ascension St. Vincent showed substantial improvements across every measured competency:
+49% improvement in confidence ordering medications
+27% improvement in formulating an accurate assessment
UC Irvine showed similarly strong gains in areas where confidence had been lowest at baseline:
+48% improvement in confidence ordering medications
+27% improvement in identifying the correct admission setting
And at UC Irvine, the experience statements were striking: 100% of residents agreed that DDx improved their confidence in clinical reasoning!
86% said they believed DDx inclusion during residency would benefit their learning and clinical preparedness throughout training not just at orientation.
What faculty and residents said
At Indiana Ascension St. Vincent, faculty praised DDx for surfacing what typically stays hidden until much later in training:
"Without a tool like this, we'd only discover those deficits later in the year. This lets us capture them early and tailor our teaching from day one."
The low-stakes environment stood out as a key differentiator from high-fidelity simulation:
"It spurred them back into critical thinking in a very low-risk, safe way — before their first real patient encounter."
Adoption was also seamless: nearly all interns had already used Sketchy in medical school, and because they were already familiar this implementation caused no onboarding friction.
At UC Irvine, residents didn't just complete their assigned cases, they asked for more. Faculty reported:
"The residents enjoyed the content and were asking for more cases."
"The AI attending conversation really helped them get better at differentials — one of the hardest parts of patient care."
One resident put it simply:
"Wow, this is incredible. I love the real-world application, the simulation element, and the interactive ability. Technology/AI has done wonders for learning. I'm going to enjoy doing these cases!"
Why bootcamp works with DDx
DDx is built for exactly this moment in training. The platform delivers realistic, faculty-authored cases aligned to residency-level clinical presentations — structured across three dimensions:
- Clinical reasoning: how residents synthesize information, form assessments, and make decisions
- Clinical skills: fluency in high-yield technical skills like imaging, EKG, and lab interpretation
- Communication: realistic spoken practice with patients, families, and care teams
Residents engage at their own pace and receive immediate, automated feedback after each case, reinforcing critical thinking without requiring faculty to be present for every interaction.
Faculty, in turn, get something they rarely have during orientation week: objective, actionable insight into where each resident actually stands — structured data on reasoning patterns, not just right-or-wrong answers. Programs have described DDx as a 'third pillar' alongside bedside teaching and high-fidelity simulation: not a replacement for either, but an essential addition.
Ready to make boot camp count?
If your program is looking for a scalable, evidence-backed tool to set interns up for success from day one, we'd love to show you what DDx can do.
Schedule a demo today!
Sources: Indiana Ascension St. Vincent Internal Medicine Residency Program Case Study (DDx by Sketchy, 2025); UC Irvine Emergency Medicine Residency Program Case Study (DDx by Sketchy, August 2025).
