Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education.

Objective: To explore the understanding of medical students regarding the integration of AI in medical education.

Study design: Mixed methods, explanatory sequential study. Place and Duration of the Study: This study was conducted from March to May 2024 at the CMH Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan.

Methodology: A total of 152 undergraduate medical students were recruited. Quantitative surveys were used to measure AI-related attitudes and awareness of the students through a Likert scale, while in-depth insights into challenges and educational impact were obtained through open-ended questions. SPSS version 27 was used for the analysis of quantitative and Nvivo-11 for qualitative data.

Results: The study consisted of 152 participants. Most of them 139 (95.9%) had good knowledge about AI and expressed positive views. The majority believed that AI improves medical concepts, patient outcomes, and healthcare delivery, and helps in early disease detection. They agreed that AI will be effective in education 114 (75%) and will have a positive impact on learning experience 111 (73%) and future medical practice 94 (62%), so, it should be mandatory in medical education 90 (59%). Around half of the participants perceived potential job displacement and ethical dilemmas as a challenge due to AI in the future. Major themes emerging from qualitative data were AI-related challenges, topics of interest, and future expectations.

Conclusion: The study showed positive views and attitudes towards AI integration in medical education. Participants highlighted various benefits and perceived challenges including ethical concerns and resource limitations. As medical education advances, this subject needs to be studied more for its successful integration into medical education for better results.

Key words: Understanding, Awareness, Artificial intelligence, Medical education, Medical students.