Abstract
Purpose :
To assess the perspectives of Canadian medical students and ophthalmologists on artificial intelligence (AI) in ophthalmology and medicine.
Methods :
Participants were recruited from all 16 Canadian medical schools and 15 ophthalmology programs. A bilingual web-based questionnaire with 25 questions for trainees and 26 for ophthalmologists was distributed in May 2023, focusing on their interest in AI integration into the curriculum. Participants rated statements using Likert Scales (1 = strongly disagree/negative to 5 = strongly agree/positive), and descriptive statistics, including median and interquartile range (IQR 25% - 75%), were calculated.
Results :
In total, 125 medical students from all 16 Canadian medical programs and 38 ophthalmology faculty from 12 Canadian institutions participated in the study. Ophthalmology faculty held diverse rank positions, with the majority (84%) working in academic settings. Both medical students and practicing ophthalmologists displayed a moderate understanding of AI (median: 3; IQR – Interquartile range: 2 - 3). Both groups engaged with AI at a low frequency (student median: 2; IQR: 1 – 3; ophthalmologist median 1.5; IQR 1 - 3). They strongly agreed that AI will play a significant role in ophthalmology (median: 4; IQR: 3 - 5). They acknowledged AI's potential to identify at-risk patients, aid in diagnostics, and facilitate research (median: 4; IQR: 3 - 5). Regarding treatment decisions, both groups perceived AI as moderately useful (student median: 3; IQR: 3 - 4, ophthalmologist median: 3.5; IQR: 3 - 4). There was a consensus on the importance of integrating AI into educational curricula (median: 4; IQR: 2 - 4), including in the ophthalmology residency curriculum (median: 4; IQR: 3 - 4). Ophthalmologists expressed low concerns about AI replacing their roles (median: 1; IQR: 1 - 2).
Conclusions :
Our findings indicate that both medical students and ophthalmologists are aware of the potential applications of AI in ophthalmology. Despite not routinely using AI in their research or clinical practice, both groups strongly agreed that integrating AI in the ophthalmology curriculum would be beneficial. Our results are consistent with those reported in radiology, pathology, and cardiology, where both trainees and faculty indicated their desire for AI teaching to be integrated in the medical curriculum.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.