S.L. Cochrun1, T. Boualoy1, S. Srinivas1, K. Pei1 1Parkview Health, General Surgery, Fort Wayne, INDIANA, USA
Introduction:
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have allowed for numerous applications in the surgical field. Regarding surgical education, it has not been evaluated for its ability to engage in critical analysis of surgical research seen in surgery journal clubs. The aim of this study is to investigate AI’s ability to distill large volumes of content into clear, concise, and digestible formats to improve surgical journal clubs.
Methods:
A single, widely accessible AI software (ChatGPT) was provided literature explaining how to effectively evaluate surgical research. An open access, readily available article (The MSLT 2 Trial) was then presented to AI and a general surgery resident. Summaries of said article were created based upon a standardized journal club format and the resultant writings were de-identified. Surgical residents were then tasked with evaluating these summaries via surveys, knowledge assessments, and general feedback.
Results:
11 general surgery residents participated in summary analysis. A majority believed AI could help with research (85.7%), but only 57.1% currently used for research and 28.6% for journal club specifically. Residents strongly agreed that the AI article provides a concise, thorough explanation of article in its entirety (86%) with trends towards complete analysis of data. AI had less confidence with figure and graph explanation, but it was better when compared with resident summary (71% vs 43%). Participants generally agreed that the AI summary offered rationales for study finding implementation in clinical practice (90%), but in comparison to resident summary, the two summaries received similar trend towards agreement on their utility. Over 90% of residents correctly identified the AI summary at completion of the study.
Conclusion:
With AI’s ability to quickly analyze and recognize patterns, its use in supplementing surgical education via journal club offers a potential additional resource. Even in its early stages, AI can produce helpful summaries of surgical research to supplement resident education through digestible, engaging content. While the goal of journal club is discussion and knowledge retention through resident interactions with the literature, AI integration into this activity could help optimize the educational value of journal club.