Medical Student Experiences and Perceptions of ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the way medicine is learned, taught, and practiced, and medical education must prepare learners for these inevitable changes. Academic medicine has, however, been slow to embrace recent AI advances. Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has emerged as a fast and user-friendly large language model that can assist health care professionals, medical educators, students, trainees, and patients. While many studies focus on the technology's capabilities, potential, and risks, there is a gap in studying the perspective of end users. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to gauge the experiences and perspectives of graduating medical students on ChatGPT and AI in their training and future careers. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based survey of recently graduated medical students was conducted in an international academic medical center between May 5, 2023, and June 13, 2023. Descriptive statistics were used to tabulate variable frequencies. RESULTS: Of 325 applicants to the residency programs, 265 completed the survey (an 81.5% response rate). The vast majority of respondents denied using ChatGPT in medical school, with 20.4% (n=54) using it to help complete written assessments and only 9.4% using the technology in their clinical work (n=25). More students planned to use it during residency, primarily for exploring new medical topics and research (n=168, 63.4%) and exam preparation (n=151, 57%). Male students were significantly more likely to believe that AI will improve diagnostic accuracy (n=47, 51.7% vs n=69, 39.7%; P=.001), reduce medical error (n=53, 58.2% vs n=71, 40.8%; P=.002), and improve patient care (n=60, 65.9% vs n=95, 54.6%; P=.007). Previous experience with AI was significantly associated with positive AI perception in terms of improving patient care, decreasing medical errors and misdiagnoses, and increasing the accuracy of diagnoses (P=.001, P<.001, P=.008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The surveyed medical students had minimal formal and informal experience with AI tools and limited perceptions of the potential uses of AI in health care but had overall positive views of ChatGPT and AI and were optimistic about the future of AI in medical education and health care. Structured curricula and formal policies and guidelines are needed to adequately prepare medical learners for the forthcoming integration of AI in medicine.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Residents' Well-Being in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Background: During the Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, medical residents were deployed to help with managing patients in a wide range of settings. Unlike other COVID-19-related topics, the psychological impact of the pandemic on medical residents has received little attention. Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical residents' well-being, depression, and stress levels. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. A total of 597 medical residents were identified and with the aim of a sample size of 300 participants; 242 responses were collected during the period between November 2020 to February 2021. Data were collected through an online survey utilizing Patient Health Questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale. SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results: Most of the residents in our study were females (73.6%) and single (60.7%). Around 66.5% were depressed, 87.2% were under low-moderate stress, and 12.8% were under high stress. Majority (73.5%) of the single residents were depressed (P = 0.016). Being male has been found to lower the risk of developing depression (P = 0.042). The need to relocate for family protection increased the risk of developing depression (P = 0.022).Residents who were living with their friends/roommates were found to be under a high level of stress (P = 0.001). Surgical specialties' residents were found to be the most under high stress (P = 0.044). Conclusion: Female gender, single status, and changing housing were risk factors for depression. Conversely, living with friends/roommates and working in surgical specialties were contributing to high-stress levels.

Intelligent Graduate Medical Education Dashboard (IGMED) to Enhance Trainee Oversight During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Medical residents comprise a large, but unique, subset of the physician workforce. They serve as front-line staff, but are trainees, regulated by duty hour and supervision restrictions. Heightened oversight is necessary to ensure resident supervision and safety whilst mobilizing this important workforce during crisis. This manuscript describes the development and implementation of an institutional crisis dashboard to facilitate timely information gathering and decision-making regarding resident activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to develop an intelligent graduate medical education dashboard to centralize and integrate data to support accurate, timely decisions in several areas: (1) track redeployment; (2) ensure adherence to supervision and duty hour regulations; and (3) monitor infection control and safety measures. METHODS: The dashboard is a live Microsoft Excel database saved to a shared fileserver. All existing databases within the education department were reviewed to form a foundational template. A monitoring section provides at-a-glance information on trainee assignments. Embedded color-coded flags attached to specific responses immediately highlight areas of deficiency. RESULTS: The dashboard facilitated the efficient mobilization of trainees, while ensuring assignments followed education regulations. It allowed the education office to centralize and proactively arrange mass scrubs orders, facemask fitting, and personal protective equipment training. It was a monitoring system that enabled recognition of safety concerns in real-time, including identifying areas where residents were most exposed or infected. CONCLUSION: The dashboard improved the efficiency of crisis response, while prioritizing resident safety. It is feasible, low cost and easily accessible, even during Internet disruption. It can be used by hospitals worldwide, including low resource settings.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of breastfeeding among women visiting primary healthcare clinics on the island of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization recommends continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond. This study assessed breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, and practices among women residing on the island of Abu Dhabi and identified associated factors. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire among mothers visiting primary healthcare clinics in Abu Dhabi between November 2014 and 2015. Participants were women aged at least 18 years who had at least one child aged 2 years or younger at the time of the study. Breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, and practices were assessed on the basis of experience with last child. Selected questions were used to develop a scaled scoring system to categorize these aspects as good, fair, or poor. Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as the act of feeding infants only breast milk since birth, without providing water, formula, or other liquid supplements. RESULTS: The participants were 344 women. Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was reported by only 46 (16.9%, 95% CI 0.10, 0.17, n = 272). 79 (28.7%, n = 275) of the participants were breastfeeding and planning to continue after the child was ≥24 months. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the following factors were associated with exclusive breastfeeding: mothers with female children (adjusted OR [AOR] 2.42; 95% CI 1.18, 4.97) and better breastfeeding knowledge scores (AOR 1.25; 95% CI 1.04, 1.50). The following factors were associated with less likelihood of exclusively breastfeeding: working mothers (AOR 0.29; 95% CI 0.12, 0.72), living with relatives (AOR 0.21; 95% CI 0.05, 0.81), no past exclusive breastfeeding experience (AOR 0.23; 95% CI 0.09, 0.58) and being offered readymade liquid formula in hospital (AOR 0.33; 95% CI 0.15, 0.72). The most common reason for stopping breastfeeding was insufficient breast milk production (68/89, 76%), and the most common work related reason was inadequate maternity leave (24/89, 15%). CONCLUSION: Although breastfeeding knowledge was generally good, breastfeeding practice was still suboptimal. Modifiable factors found to predict exclusive breastfeeding included breastfeeding knowledge and mothers' employment status.

Creating a Framework for Medical Professionalism: An Initial Consensus Statement From an Arab Nation.

Background Medical professionalism has received increased worldwide attention, yet there is limited information on the applicability and utility of established Western professionalism frameworks in non-Western nations. Objective We developed a locally derived consensus definition of medical professionalism for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which reflects the cultural and social constructs of the UAE and the Middle East. Methods We used a purposive sample of 14 physicians working in the UAE as clinical and education leaders. This expert panel used qualitative methods, including the world café, nominal group technique, the Delphi method, and an interpretive thematic analysis to develop the consensus statement. Results The expert panel defined 9 attributes of medical professionalism. There was considerable overlap with accepted Western definitions, along with important differences in 3 aspects: (1) the primacy of social justice and societal rights; (2) the role of the physician's personal faith and spirituality in guiding professional practices; and (3) societal expectations for professional attributes of physicians that extend beyond the practice of medicine. Conclusions Professionalism is a social construct influenced by cultural and religious contexts. It is imperative that definitions of professionalism used in the education of physicians in training and in the assessment of practicing physicians be formulated locally and encompass specific competencies relevant to the local, social, and cultural context for medical practice. Our goal was to develop a secular consensus statement that encompasses culture and values relevant to professionalism for the UAE and the Arab region.