Can ChatGPT-3.5 Pass a Medical Exam? A Systematic Review of ChatGPT's Performance in Academic Testing

We, therefore, aim to conduct a systematic review to assess the academic potential of ChatGPT-3.5, along with its strengths and limitations when giving medical exams.

Following PRISMA guidelines, a systemic search of the literature was performed using electronic databases PUBMED/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane. Articles from their inception till April 4, 2023, were queried. A formal narrative analysis was conducted by systematically arranging similarities and differences between individual findings together.

After rigorous screening, 12 articles underwent this review. All the selected papers assessed the academic performance of ChatGPT-3.5. One study compared the performance of ChatGPT-3.5 with the performance of ChatGPT-4 when giving a medical exam. Overall, ChatGPT performed well in 4 tests, averaged in 4 tests, and performed badly in 4 tests. ChatGPT's performance was directly proportional to the level of the questions' difficulty but was unremarkable on whether the questions were binary, descriptive, or MCQ-based. ChatGPT's explanation, reasoning, memory, and accuracy were remarkably good, whereas it failed to understand image-based questions, and lacked insight and critical thinking.

ChatGPT-3.5 performed satisfactorily in the exams it took as an examinee. However, there is a need for future related studies to fully explore the potential of ChatGPT in medical education.