Students Are Ready for AI-But Is Medical Education?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly relevant to medical training, yet formal AI instruction remains limited. This study examined medical students' awareness, perceived access to AI-integrated learning tools, and views on institutional readiness.

A cross-sectional survey of 391 medical students from > 30 countries (January-February 2025) measured AI awareness, proficiency, access to AI-enabled tools, institutional preparedness and perceived barriers. ANOVA, t-tests and χ² tests examined differences by training stage, institution type and World Bank country classification.

Awareness was high (91.6%, 358/391), yet only 58.1% (227/391) reported access to AI-integrated tools. Proficiency increased by training stage (F(2,388) = 5.6, p = 0.004), but did not differ by institution type (t = -0.86, p = 0.39) or World Bank classification (t = -1.16, p = 0.25). Although 82.1% (321/391) expressed interest in structured AI training, only 34.5% (135/391) believed their institution was prepared. Reported barriers included lack of training, cost and concerns about reliability.

Findings indicate a need for structured AI education emphasizing applied skills, ethics and critical appraisal to align student demand with institutional readiness.