Knowledge Attitudes and Practices Regarding Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Among Medical Undergraduates at a Private Medical Institute in Delhi NCR
This cross-sectional study of 365 medical undergraduates in Delhi NCR reveals that while students exhibit moderate knowledge, neutral attitudes, and growing engagement with AI tools like ChatGPT, significant gaps in formal training and practical competency persist, underscoring the urgent need for structured curricular integration of AI literacy and ethics in medical education.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Imagine the future of medicine as a massive, high-tech spaceship. For years, the crew (doctors) has been navigating by looking out the window and using old maps. But now, a powerful new navigation system called Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been installed on the bridge. It can spot storms (diseases) before they happen and plot courses (treatments) faster than anyone else.
But here's the twist: The people who are supposed to be the captains of this spaceship tomorrow—the medical students—are still learning how to read the dashboard.
A group of researchers at a private medical school in Delhi (SGT University) decided to check the crew's readiness. They asked 365 students, "Do you know how this AI engine works? Do you like it? And are you actually using it?"
The Crew's Current Status: "Somewhat Familiar"
The results show that the students aren't total strangers to the ship's new tech, but they aren't expert pilots yet either.
- Knowledge: Think of this as how well they understand the manual. The average score was 9.22 out of a possible 15. Most students (60.3%) landed in the "moderate" zone. They know the buttons exist, but they might not know exactly what happens if they press them all at once. About 27.9% had "good" knowledge, while the rest were a bit shaky.
- Attitude: This is their mood about the new tech. The average score was 24.45 out of 35. Interestingly, most students (60.0%) were "neutral." They weren't terrified, but they weren't cheering either. They were like passengers watching a new gadget with a mix of curiosity and caution. About 38.6% were actually excited (favourable), while a small group was worried.
- Practice: This is how often they actually touch the controls. The average score was 7.44 out of 12. Nearly half (47.4%) were "moderate" users. They had tried it out, but they weren't flying the ship solo yet.
The Favorite Tool: The "Magic Chatbot"
When the students did use AI, they almost all reached for the same tool. ChatGPT was the superstar, used by 83.3% of the students who tried AI. It's like the only app everyone has on their phone. Other tools like Gemini were known by many (88.5%), but used far less often.
The students used these tools mostly for schoolwork or to understand medical cases (67.1%). The main reasons they liked it?
- Time-saving: 71.2% said it helped them finish tasks faster.
- Curiosity: 66.6% just wanted to see what it could do.
The "But..." Factor: The Roadblocks
Even though they were curious, the students hit some walls. They didn't use the tech more because:
- Ethical Worries: 37.5% were worried about doing the wrong thing or breaking rules.
- Tech Glitches: 30.1% found the tools hard to use or buggy.
- Confusion: 29.9% simply didn't know enough about how to use it properly.
The Big Discovery: Experience is Everything
Here is the most important part of the story. The researchers found a clear link between experience and skill.
Students who had already played with AI before this study were the clear winners. They knew more, liked it more, and used it better than those who hadn't.
- Knowledge: Students with prior experience were much more likely to have "good" knowledge (39.0%) compared to those without (17.6%).
- Attitude: They were also more likely to have a positive attitude (43.5% vs 34.0%).
- Practice: They were the ones actually using the tools effectively (45.8% vs 22.3%).
The paper suggests that just knowing about AI isn't enough; you have to touch it to get good at it.
What the Paper Says is NOT True
The researchers were careful to rule out a few things:
- It's not a solved problem: They explicitly state that while students are aware of AI, their "conceptual understanding and practical competency" are still limited. It is not a breakthrough where everyone is ready to go.
- Gender isn't a magic switch for everything: While they found that male students used AI tools more often than female students (42.0% vs 30.0%), they found no link between gender and how much the students knew or liked AI.
- It's not just about age or year in school: The study found that whether a student was 20 or 22, or in their first or third year of medical school, didn't change their knowledge or attitude scores significantly. The only thing that really mattered was whether they had prior exposure.
The Bottom Line
The paper concludes that medical students are like a crew that has seen the new spaceship's controls but hasn't had a formal flight simulator training session yet. They are curious and willing, but they are missing the structured lessons.
The authors suggest that to get these future doctors ready, schools need to stop just talking about AI and start teaching it. They need to add specific classes, hands-on workshops, and lessons on the ethics (the "rules of the road") to bridge the gap between knowing about the tool and actually knowing how to fly the ship.
Until then, the students are navigating with a mix of "I think I can do this" and "I hope I don't crash," relying mostly on the time-saving magic of ChatGPT while waiting for a proper map.
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