Understanding AI in Healthcare: Perspectives of Future Healthcare Professionals

Introduction The current medical curriculum lacks comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI)-focused training, potentially impacting future healthcare delivery. This study addresses the critical gap in AI training within medical education, particularly in India, by assessing medical students' awareness, perceptions, readiness, confidence, and ethical considerations regarding AI in healthcare. Our findings underscore the necessity of integrating AI competencies into medical education to prepare future healthcare professionals for an AI- driven landscape. Method After obtaining ethics approval, we conducted a cross-sectional study on Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students from the 2019-2023 batch. An exploratory survey using a validated questionnaire was employed to obtain medical students' current understanding and awareness of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, perceptions, readiness, confidence, and ethical considerations in utilizing AI technologies in clinical practice. Results The survey received 217 responses from 2019-2023 MBBS students. We found a mean percentage of awareness score of 44.74%, a mean percentage perception score of 68.96%, a mean percentage readiness score of 91.32%, a mean percentage confidence score of 58.48%, and a mean percentage ethics importance score of 69.27%. Males had higher awareness, confidence, and readiness scores. Conversely, females scored slightly higher in perception and the importance of ethics consideration, although not statistically significant. Junior batches outperform senior batches in perception, confidence, and readiness scores; in contrast, the awareness and ethics importance scores do not show significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion Our study indicates a generally positive outlook toward AI's potential to enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. The study suggests a strong inclination toward further education and practical training focused on AI in healthcare, considering a solid recognition of the significance of ethical implications related to AI in healthcare. These findings highlight the importance of fostering AI literacy within medical education curricula and underscore the necessity for ongoing evaluation and adaptation to ensure that future healthcare professionals are equipped to navigate the complexities of AI in healthcare delivery while upholding ethical standards.