Trends in Artificial Intelligence Usage in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Applications

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
• Surgical Residency Admissions

Background:

• The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT is increasingly impacting healthcare professionals.
• This study examines the evolving landscape of AI and plagiarism within orthopaedic surgery residency applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the trends in AI utilization and plagiarism in orthopaedic surgery residency applications.
• To analyze changes across three consecutive application cycles (2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025).

Main Methods:

• Analysis of deidentified letters of recommendation (LORs) and personal statements (PSs) from interviewed applicants.
• Utilized a blinded review process with an online platform to detect AI-generated content and plagiarism.

Main Results:

• AI usage in LORs surged to 17.8% in the 2024-2025 cycle, a significant increase from prior years (p < 0.001).
• Originality scores for LORs decreased significantly in 2024-2025 (92.4%) compared to previous cycles (p < 0.001).
• AI usage in PSs declined to 43.5% in 2024-2025, a decrease from 60.3% and 65.2% in prior cycles (p = 0.031).
• No significant changes in plagiarism scores were observed for LORs or PSs across the cycles.

Conclusions:

• The 2024-2025 application cycle demonstrated a notable rise in AI use within LORs, contrasting with a decline in PSs.
• These findings highlight the dynamic integration of AI tools by applicants and letter writers in the residency application process.