Perceptions and Educational Needs of Bangladeshi Medical and Dental Students Regarding Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Objective The increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the field of healthcare brings forth diverse applications. This study explores the perceptions of undergraduate medical and dental students regarding AI, their current educational opportunities related to AI, and their preferences for the delivery medium of AI curriculum in Bangladeshi medical and dental students. Methods A survey consisting of 32 questions was distributed to undergraduate medical and dental students from January to June 2023 across different medical and dental schools in Bangladesh. Questions were scored on a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), and descriptive analyses were applied to analyze data. Descriptive statistics were applied to the data. Results A total of 729 responses were collected from students across medical and dental schools, with a mean respondent age of 22.54 years. The majority of respondents agreed that AI applications would be commonly used in medicine in the future (94%) and that their use would improve medical practice (84%). Additionally, 73% recognized the necessity of using and understanding AI during their careers, and 67% supported the formal integration of AI education into medical curricula. However, 85% reported a lack of conventional AI-related educational opportunities, and 74% perceived current learning opportunities as inadequate. Conclusion The study highlights a significant gap in AI-related educational opportunities for medical and dental students in Bangladesh, emphasizing the need to integrate AI training into conventional medical curricula to prepare future practitioners for its clinical applications.