Medical Education Online (Dec 2024)

Preparing healthcare leaders of the digital age with an integrative artificial intelligence curriculum: a pilot study

  • Soo Hwan Park,
  • Roshini Pinto-Powell,
  • Thomas Thesen,
  • Alexander Lindqwister,
  • Joshua Levy,
  • Rachael Chacko,
  • Devina Gonzalez,
  • Connor Bridges,
  • Adam Schwendt,
  • Travis Byrum,
  • Justin Fong,
  • Shahin Shasavari,
  • Saeed Hassanpour

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2024.2315684
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 1

Abstract

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ABSTRACTArtificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly being introduced into the clinical workflow of many specialties. Despite the need to train physicians who understand the utility and implications of AI and mitigate a growing skills gap, no established consensus exists on how to best introduce AI concepts to medical students during preclinical training. This study examined the effectiveness of a pilot Digital Health Scholars (DHS) non-credit enrichment elective that paralleled the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine’s first-year preclinical curriculum with a focus on introducing AI algorithms and their applications in the concurrently occurring systems-blocks. From September 2022 to March 2023, ten self-selected first-year students enrolled in the elective curriculum run in parallel with four existing curricular blocks (Immunology, Hematology, Cardiology, and Pulmonology). Each DHS block consisted of a journal club, a live-coding demonstration, and an integration session led by a researcher in that field. Students’ confidence in explaining the content objectives (high-level knowledge, implications, and limitations of AI) was measured before and after each block and compared using Mann-Whitney U tests. Students reported significant increases in confidence in describing the content objectives after all four blocks (Immunology: U = 4.5, p = 0.030; Hematology: U = 1.0, p = 0.009; Cardiology: U = 4.0, p = 0.019; Pulmonology: U = 4.0, p = 0.030) as well as an average overall satisfaction level of 4.29/5 in rating the curriculum content. Our study demonstrates that a digital health enrichment elective that runs in parallel to an institution’s preclinical curriculum and embeds AI concepts into relevant clinical topics can enhance students’ confidence in describing the content objectives that pertain to high-level algorithmic understanding, implications, and limitations of the studied models. Building on this elective curricular design, further studies with a larger enrollment can help determine the most effective approach in preparing future physicians for the AI-enhanced clinical workflow.

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