Needs, Challenges and Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education Curriculum (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Artificial intelligence (AI) is on course to become a mainstay in the patient's room, physicians office and the surgical suite. Current advancements in healthcare technology put future physicians in an insufficiently equipped position and even possible inferiority to machines. Physicians will be regularly tasked with clinical decision making with the assistance of AI driven predictions. Present-day physicians are not trained to incorporate the suggestions of statistical predictions on a regular basis nor are they knowledgeable in an ethical approach to incorporating AI in their distribution of care. Medical schools do not currently incorporate AI in the curriculum due to the lack of faculty expertise or knowledge on the matter, the lack of evidence in students desire to learn about AI, complacency with an already rigorous curriculum or lack of guidance on AI in medical education from medical education governing bodies. Medical schools should incorporate AI in the curriculum as a longitudinal thread in current subjects. Current students should have an understanding in the breadth of AI tools, the framework of engineering and designing AI solutions to clinical issues and acquiring knowledge about data appropriate to AI innovations. Study cases in the curriculum should include an AI recommendation that may present critical decision making challenges. Finally, the ethical implications of AI in medicine must be at the forefront of any comprehensive medical education.

Curriculum development on the human rights of people with disabilities for future medical education: using a modified Delphi

Background In order for doctors to effectively provide medical services to patients with disabilities, an understanding of this population is necessary, along with the knowledge, attitudes, and technical abilities necessary to address health problems associated with each type of disability. One way of doing this is by educating doctors about disabilities and ensuring their frequent contact with people with disabilities while they are in medical school. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a systematic medical education curriculum to enhance doctors’ understanding of people with disabilities. Methods The authors conducted a systematic literature review to develop and verify the basic framework of the educational content and curriculum. Two surveys were also developed using the Delphi method to evaluate the adequacy and necessity of educational topics. Items with a content validity ratio equal to or greater than the minimum value were considered valid. Survey panels comprised academic experts and health care practitioners who were working with people with disabilities. We conducted two surveys, one for a basic and the other for an advanced course, in which 13 to 16 respondents took part. Results The authors selected 13 topics for the ‘Basic Introductory Course’ and included general educational content on the health rights of people with disabilities focused on improving students’ knowledge of disabilities. The authors also selected 12 topics for the ‘Care and Communication for Patients with Disabilities Course’ designed to improve students’ understanding of interviewing and communicating with patients with disabilities. Conclusions In Korea, disability has received little attention in the medical curriculum to date. The curriculum developed in this study provides preliminary data for guiding future directions in medical education and developing specific support plans for an education that promotes people with disabilities’ health rights.

COVID-19 and the Clinical Phase of the Medical Doctorate Curriculum in Oman

COVID-19 has gripped the world with lightning speed. Since the onset of the pandemic, activity throughout the world came to a grinding halt. However, business had to continue and people have to learn to live with the virus while the pandemic continues to rage. Medical education is no exception and may even deserve special mention, as it prepares frontline workers against the endemics of tomorrow. We discuss here the journey of medical education at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, as the pandemic struck the world and Oman. This work suggests a roadmap for changes, discusses challenges and proposes measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on medical schools. Keywords: COVID-19; Medical Education; Curriculum; Computer Simulation; Artificial Intelligence; Oman.