Prompt engineering in medical education. Dissecting the new technological frontier in Digestive Surgery

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a tangible reality in medical education, yet many struggle to interact effectively with these models. This editorial introduces Prompt Engineering as the modern "digital stethoscope"-a systematic approach to maximize AI potential. A structured prompt relies on four pillars (Context, Request, Persona, Format) and advances through four levels of complexity. Strategies like instructing the AI to "think step by step" mitigate logical errors in clinical tasks. However, users must remain vigilant against AI "hallucinations" and phantom citations by using verified databases. Ultimately, while AI processes vast data, human clinical judgment remains the irreplaceable filter for patient safety.