General attitudes of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty of Medicine students and resident physicians towards artificial intelligence

Introduction and purpose: In line with technological developments, the place of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in healthcare is increasing and its use is becoming widespread. However, the insufficient knowledge and prejudices of physicians about AI constitute obstacles to this progress. The knowledge and thoughts of all healthcare professionals, especially physicians, about AI are important for the future of AI use in healthcare. This study aims to determine the general attitudes of students and resident physicians of Van Yuzuncu Yil University Faculty of Medicine towards AI, to reveal their thoughts about AI, and to gain insight into the perception of AI. In light of the results to be obtained, it is aimed to question the attitudes of students and resident physicians of Van Yuzuncu Yil University Faculty of Medicine towards AI and to address the steps that can be taken to improve this attitude. Demonstrating that students and resident physicians can actively use artificial intelligence in scientific studies is among the aims of the study and its contributions to the literature. Materials and Methods: This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional survey study. As a result of the literature review, the General Attitude Scale Form towards Artificial Intelligence was created; this form was applied to 157 volunteers consisting of Van YYU students/resident physicians in a virtual environment between September 15, 2024 and October 15, 2024. The Cronbach's Alpha value (0.894) being greater than 0.8 indicates that the scale is reliable. Statistical analyses were performed using MS Excel and SPSS (ver. 27) package programs. Descriptive statistics were given for categorical variables. Independent sample t-test and Oneway ANOVA test were used to examine the relationship between attitude towards artificial intelligence and sociodemographic information. The statistical significance limit was accepted as 5% (p<0.05). Results: In this study, the results obtained from 157 participants were examined and presented in detail and comparatively in the findings and discussion sections. The scores of the participants from the General Attitude Scale Form towards Artificial Intelligence were calculated and the average score was obtained as 3.389, the minimum score as 1.250 and the maximum score as 4.550. Cronbach's Alpha value was obtained as 0.894 and the scale was found to be reliable. As a result of the analyses, it was seen that; males had more positive attitudes towards artificial intelligence than females (𝑋=3.441> 𝑋=3.334); the 26-30 age group (𝑋=3.620) had more positive attitudes than other age groups; and participants with 5-9 years of experience (𝑋=3.548) had more positive attitudes than other experience groups. As a result of the tests, it was seen that gender and professional experience subgroups did not create significant differences between the attitudes towards artificial intelligence; It was determined that there was a significant difference between the attitude of the 17-25 age group and the attitude of the 26-30 age group towards artificial intelligence. Conclusion: According to the gender and professional experience of the participants; no significant differences were observed in the attitude towards artificial intelligence (p>0.05), but a significant difference was detected in the age groups (p<0.05), and it was seen that the reason for this difference was the difference between the 17-25 age group and the 26-30 age group. The average score of the participants was determined as 3.389. This situation is an indication that the participants have more positive attitudes. As a result of the study; it was suggested that trainings on artificial intelligence should be included in the medical school curricula and that more educational content on the subject of "artificial intelligence and medicine" should be given. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, resident physician, intern.