Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Education

Dear Editor, we found that the article on “Dr. ChatGPT: Utilizing Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Education” ¹ is interesting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capabilities of ChatGPT, an AI language model, in describing the Fisher cleft lip repair procedure. The steps generated by ChatGPT were then compared to those written by a board-certified craniomaxillofacial surgeon in a conversation log. Residents and medical students were given a survey form to assess their understanding, preferences, and ability to identify the author of the procedural prompts. Residents from plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS), general surgery (GS), internal medicine (IM), and medical students participated in the study, which was done at a single institution. The major findings show that PRS residents recognized more mistakes in the ChatGPT response and favored the CMF surgeon's prompt for doing the procedure. Residents with less competence in the procedure, on the other hand, were unable to determine who wrote which procedure and preferred the ChatGPT response for describing the concept and conducting the surgery.

The small and specialized sample size from a single school is one potential limitation of this study. The results may not apply to other institutions or populations. Furthermore, the study did not compare the accuracy of ChatGPT-generated procedural steps to known surgical guidelines or expert agreement. The primary focus was on resident preferences and author identification. To validate the findings and assess the accuracy and clinical significance of ChatGPT-generated procedural steps, more study with a bigger and more diverse population, including specialists in the field, would be desirable.

To fairly balance the benefits and potential downsides of generative AI, effective governance and monitoring techniques are required. Without human oversight, AI shouldn't be allowed to generate, change, or approve sensitive material. ² Through ChatGPT, you could discover a wealth of knowledge about issues and solutions. The ChatGPT results imply that some of these datasets may contain erroneous assumptions or points of view. As a result, patients might be given inaccurate or misleading information. Consider the ethical implications of using AI-powered chatbots in academic research before continuing.