Purpose With the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, the integration of AI education into medical school curricula is gaining significant attention. This study aimed to gather the perceptions of faculty members and students regarding the integration of AI education into medical curricula in the Korean context.
Methods Faculty members and medical students’ perspectives on integrating AI into medical curricula were assessed through thematic analysis of free-written responses from 157 faculty members and 125 students in a national online survey on medical AI competencies in South Korea.
Results Three key themes emerged: content, which prioritizes basic knowledge and its practical applications, with an emphasis on ethical and legal responsibilities; curricular design, which advocates for a spiral curriculum tailored to learners' needs; and concerns, which highlight balancing AI integration with the principal goals of medical education while critically evaluating ongoing advancements.
Conclusion Our study adds valuable insights into the content and methods to prioritize AI education. Given the rapid evolution of medical learners and AI technologies, continuous and timely needs assessment for AI curriculum development is crucial to maintain relevance and effectiveness.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Artificial Intelligence in Neurology and Stroke Education: Current Applications and Future Directions Braydon Dymm, Abdullah Khalid Seminars in Neurology.2026; 46(01): 049. CrossRef
Not all AI is created equal: considerations for equity in medical education Michael Soh, Nidhi Goel, Violet Kulo Korean Journal of Medical Education.2026; 38(1): 15. CrossRef
Are future doctors ready for AI? Artificial intelligence in the field of medicine: perception among medical students in North Karnataka: a cross-sectional study Shamin Eabenson, M. R. Gudadinni, M. C. Yadavannavar, Rekha Udgiri, A. M. Rangoli International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health.2026; 13(3): 1384. CrossRef
Bedside skills as context engineering: reframing history taking and physical examination for the AI era Sanghyun Ahn, Eunbae B. Yang Korean Journal of Medical Education.2026; 38(2): 207. CrossRef
Transforming Learning in the Digital Age: Examining the Role of AI for Catholic Religious Education Teachers Hartutik Hartutik, Dani Kusuma, Stepanus Istoto Raharjo, Dewi Ratna Jai, Irene Nindita Pradnya, Matilda Stella Pradnya, Johanis Luturmas Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengkajian Ilmu Pendidikan: e-Saintika.2025; 9(2): 429. CrossRef
Development and evaluation of a Wikipedia based group assessment to enhance science communication Katelyn Mroczek, Pru Mitchell, Brian Patrick McSharry, Alice Woods, Belinda Spry, Timothy Paustian, Thiru Vanniasinkam Frontiers in Education.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
From Bainbridge to bedside: applying automation insights to medical curriculum and assignment design in the artificial intelligence era Sangzin Ahn Korean Journal of Medical Education.2025; 37(4): 519. CrossRef
Purpose Despite its well-known clinical importance, physician empathy (PE) has been variably defined and its concepts among cultures are yet to be studied. This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework of PE and explore influencing factors on physicians’ empathetic behavior in the Korean clinical context.
Methods Forty-two faculty members and 67 residents participated in the two-round Delphi survey to arrive at a consensus regarding the conceptual framework of PE in 2019. To explore individual and external factors affecting physicians’ empathetic behavior, a Likert scale questionnaire based on an initial free-text response was administered to the same participants.
Results The conceptual framework of PE among Korean doctors consisted of basic communication skills and attitudes, cognitively understanding of patients’ thoughts and emotions, and communicating the doctors’ understandings to patients. Individual attributes and system- and patient-factors were revealed as influencing factors for PE in real practice. The former included communication ability, self-awareness and management, humanism, clinical competence, and good personality traits. Excessive workload, time constraints, aggressive attitudes, and negative preconceptions towards doctors were perceived as inhibiting or hindering empathy in patient care.
Conclusion PE in the Korean clinical context comprised behavioral and cognitive components. Individual attributes, as well as external factors including system- and patient-factors were identified to affect PE in clinical settings. Further studies are needed to enhance the conceptual clarity of PE and identify how to promote doctors’ empathetic practice even in less favorable healthcare environments.
PURPOSE The aims of this study were to explore the terms that patients preferred to be called during medical encounters and to provide a guideline about the proper use of appellations about patients in teaching medical students.
METHODS Patients were asked to select items from given examples to indicate how they wanted to be addressed by their doctors and how their doctors tended to address them.
These terms were categorized into 3 groups; 1) terms that includes name, 2) "patient+honorific suffix, boon (hwanja- boon)", and 3) other general terms. The survey also included questions on patient's perception of the importance of terms of address in building a good doctor-patient relationship.
The questionnaire was distributed to 440 out-patients of the three university affiliated hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi province from August to September 2007.
RESULTS Three hundred ninety-two respondents were analyzed after excluding 58 respondents who did not meet the study criteria. The ages of the respondents ranged from 18 to 80 years, and 56% of them were male. Most patients preferred to be called by the terms that includes their name (284, 72.4%) and the most preferred term was "family name (FN)+given name (GN)+honorific suffix, nim" (156, 39.8%), while doctors used the terms "patient+honorific suffix, boon" (188, 48.0%) most frequently. About 59% of respondents were addressed as they preferred. Patients in their 30s and 40s showed significantly higher perceptions of the importance of terms of address than other age groups (p= 0.0007).
CONCLUSION Patients preferred to be called by their full name with an honorific suffix; however, patients' preferences and doctors' usage were not in agreement in many cases. The results of this study suggest that doctors should pay more attention to the proper use of appellation during medical encounters. Furthermore, these results can be used to teach undergraduate medical students and guide physicians on how to address patients in practice.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Patient, client, consumer, survivor or other alternatives? A scoping review of preferred terms for labelling individuals who access healthcare across settings Daniel S J Costa, Rebecca Mercieca-Bebber, Stephanie Tesson, Zac Seidler, Anna-Lena Lopez BMJ Open.2019; 9(3): e025166. CrossRef
Heart-type Fatty Acid Binding Protein as an Adjunct to Cardiac Troponin-I for the Diagnosis of Myocardial Infarction Kyung Su Kim, Hui Jai Lee, Kyuseok Kim, You Hwan Jo, Tae Yun Kim, Jin Hee Lee, Joong Eui Rhee, Gil Joon Suh, Mi Ran Kim, Christopher C. Lee, Adam J. Singer Journal of Korean Medical Science.2011; 26(1): 47. CrossRef
PURPOSE We taught medical students how to break bad news to medical students using the SPIKES protocol and investigated its efficacy.
METHODS After developing the program, we taught the 16 medical students doing their family medicine rotation. We surveyed their self-reported performance prior to the teaching and their satisfaction and change in confidence level after the teaching. Using standardized patients(SP), we also analyzed the difference in clinical performance between educated and non-educated groups.
RESULTS Students were satisfied with the education program and 12 students showed increased confidence levels. However, there was no difference in clinical performance between eduated and non-educated group, even after categorization of the exam.
CONCLUSION Self-confidence for delivering bad news increased but there was no evidence of improvement in clinical performance. Communication skills training should be repeatedly performed in each medical educational curriculum.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
The Public’s Response to Communication between a Terminal Cancer Patient and Physicians: A Qualitative Study of Three Sets of Online News Comments Song Yi Park, Kyung Hye Park Korean Medical Education Review.2022; 24(3): 240. CrossRef
Views and experience of communication when receiving a serious mental health diagnosis: satisfaction levels, communication preferences, and acceptability of the SPIKES protocol Alyssa C. Milton, Barbara Mullan Journal of Mental Health.2017; 26(5): 395. CrossRef
Delivering bad news to a patient: a survey of residents and fellows on attitude and awareness Hye Ran Lee, Seong Yoon Yi Korean Journal of Medical Education.2013; 25(4): 317. CrossRef
Do Personal Characteristics Related to Breaking Bad News Influence Students' Communication Skills? Sun Ju Im, So Jung Yune, Sang Yeoup Lee, Hae Jin Jeong, Shin Young Kang, Bee Sung Kam, Hyung Gon Yoon, Hyun Ju Choi, Sun Hee Lee, Hae Gue Kim Korean Journal of Medical Education.2008; 20(3): 231. CrossRef
First
Prev
