ChatGPT: Pharmacy students' perceptions, current use trends, ethical awareness, standards of ethics, prospects and recommendations for future use

The launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI reflected a significant turning point in the search and management of diversified information in all fields of knowledge. The concurrent use and ethical awareness of ChatGPT among pharmacy students are examined in detail in this study. During the academic year 2023–2024, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 413 pharmacy students from different universities in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire evaluated their perception and impressions, as well as literacy levels about ChatGPT, together with its proper applications in this professional field of study. Based on the awareness levels of ChatGPT, participants were split into two groups for comparison. It was revealed that a sizable proportion of students (62.55%) were unaware of the concepts and their use. However, students with prior experience using ChatGPT exhibited higher levels of awareness. Nonetheless, on pharmacy-related issues, only 57.7% of participants thought that ChatGPT's responses and information were either somewhat or to some extent appropriate. However, a number of participants (52.3%) had doubts and worries regarding the using ChatGPT. The majority of the participants (78.0%) thought that ChatGPT would have a beneficial effect on pharmacy education regardless of the pending concerns. Only 1.2% and 2.7% of total participants correctly identified the problematic and appropriate applications of ChatGPT, respectively, which indicated an insufficient literacy and ethical awareness about the use of ChatGPT. These results demonstrated a critical need for improved education and training for ChatGPT use, which also warranted more precise recommendations for ethical applications of ChatGPT. It is imperative to fill the educational gaps for a better profession-bound ethical use of ChatGPT. The current ChatGPT use status, including current levels of ethical considerations, guidelines for better ethical use, prospects, and recommendations for enhancing ChatGPT use, are outlined.