Differences and Trends of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education: A Comparative Bibliometric Analysis Between...

This study aims to explore the application of artificial intelligence in medical education by comparing research hotspots and evolutionary trends between China and the international community, ultimately proposing informed educational practices and policy recommendations.

Literature was retrieved from the core collections of CNKI and Web of Science for the period 2014-2024, limited to article and review publications. After applying a unified Boolean search strategy and deduplication, the data were analyzed using CiteSpace 6.4.R1 to examine publication trends, collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence/clustering/burst detection, and co-citation patterns.

A total of 379 Chinese and 552 English records were included. Publications surged after 2018 and peaked during 2023-2024. International hotspots centered on machine learning, deep learning, and large language models for simulation-based training and clinical reasoning; Chinese studies focused on "New Medical Sciences", VR/AR, and medical imaging. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence and multimodal large models has become a new frontier in artificial intelligence research within global medical education from 2023 to 2024.

This study is based on a comparison of two databases to reveal the hotspots and differences in artificial intelligence and medical education research between China and the international research community. It not only compensates for the time lag of existing research, but also proposes three major trends driven by artificial intelligence in the development of medical education (generative AI, personalized learning, immersive experience). A complementary pattern exists between technology-driven and scenario-driven orientations. We recommend integrating AI literacy and ethics into curricula, establishing Generative-AI teaching/assessment guidelines, and building cross-institutional, yearly knowledge-map monitoring for sustainable innovation in medical education.