Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models: A Case-Based, Peer-Teaching Workshop for Preclinical Medical...

Artificial intelligence tools have rapidly become integrated in health care settings and are quickly affecting medical student education. However, there remains limited formal teaching on such tools in student curricula. This project sought to introduce preclerkship medical students to the basics of large language models and allow them to practice ways to best use these tools to supplement their learning.

The authors designed, implemented, and evaluated a 60-minute lecture and 100-minute workshop for second-year medical students. The workshop included interactive cases covering various aspects of artificial intelligence use, and some groups were led entirely by student leaders, allowing for peer teaching.

One hundred sixty-eight students from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine were enrolled in this session. Anonymous pre- and postsession surveys (N = 124 and N = 62, respectively) were collected and compared via unpaired t test assuming unequal variance and showed statistically significant increase in the mean ratings of six 5-point Likert scale questions assessing artificial intelligence-related knowledge/self-efficacy (P < .01) and mixed changes to 5 questions relating to attitudes/behavioral intent.

Our artificial intelligence and large language model session provides a framework for teaching medical students, early in their educational journey, the basics of these tools. Our session provides interactive exercises to illustrate how best to leverage such tools while also discussing their potential risks. Such education will be important to incorporate into medical student curricula as artificial intelligence technologies grow increasingly common.