Impact of artificial intelligence on the choice of radiology as a specialty by medical students from the city of São Paulo

Abstract

<jats:p>Abstract Objective: To evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on undergraduate medical students’ choice of radiology as a specialty. Materials and Methods: In February 2019, an anonymous online survey was sent to medical students. The research contemplated questions on how much students think they know about AI technologies, how much AI discourages them from choosing radiology as a specialty, and whether they believe there is a threat to the radiology job market. Results: A total of 101 students, most of them doing their internship, answered the questionnaire. More than half of them (52.5%) said they believe AI poses a threat to the radiology job market, but 64.3% claimed not to have proper knowledge about these new technologies, and 31.7% said they would like more information on the technologies’ operation and progress before making a decision on whether or not to practice radiology as a specialty. Conclusion: A significant proportion of the surveyed students perceive AI as a threat to the radiological practice, which impacts their career choice. However, the majority claims to have insufficient knowledge of it and believes more information is needed for decision-making.</jats:p>

Artificial intelligence in radiology: does it impact medical students preference for radiology as their future career?

“…The main results of this study are generally in agreement with previously published studies in Canada, 14 Germany, 19 United Kingdom, 20 Brazil 21 and U.S. 24 which concluded that AI has a negative influence on student choice for radiology. This survey was critical to conduct in our country and is still needed to conduct in other parts of the world, in order to understand if the anxiety towards AI exists and to provide a specific recommendation needed by each country or institute since the recommendations provided by earlier studies (including ours) may not be applicable to different populations.…”

“… 9,14–18 Misunderstanding about the effect of AI on radiology may discourage medical students from considering radiology as a specialty. 14 Previous studies in the same subject from Canada, 14 Germany, 19 UK 20 , and Brazil 21 concluded that AI played a negative role in medical students’ choice for radiology.…”

Differences in Knowledge and Perspectives on the Usage of Artificial Intelligence Among Doctors and Medical Students of a Developing Country: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…However, they also felt that AI will play an integral role in delivering medical services in the future, which may reflect that early teaching about AI in the medical curriculum shall be inculcated to spark an interest in this upcoming field. Several studies had conflicting findings of the perception of medical students about whether AI will replace humans in a medical specialty, here radiology [15,[18][19][20]. Although, in our study, the majority of students agree that AI will not replace physicians in the future, it is recommended to pursue positive efforts in spreading awareness about AI so that misinformation and human hesitancy can be reduced.…”

Acceptance of clinical artificial intelligence among physicians and medical students: A systematic review with cross-sectional survey

“…Respondents from 18 medical societies and committees also pointed out that involving physicians in system design, procurement and updating could help realize the benefits of clinical decision support systems (57). Clinical AI was considered as an influencer behind career choices, and radiologists seemed to be the most affected specialty with almost half of all medical students feeling less enthusiastic about their specialty as a result of AI (27,34,39,(41)(42)(43)(44)61). Yurdaisik et al reported 55% of their sample of respondents thought that new physicians should choose professional fields in which AI would not dominate (37).…”