In this presentation for the 2025 Blended Intensive Programme on AI for Students, I explain how the emergence of generative AI presents unprecedented opportunities for healthcare education, offering personalised learning pathways that adapt to individual student needs. AI can serve multiple complementary roles: as a coach that optimises personal learning, a creative partner in developing educational materials, a research assistant for information management, and a clinical companion for scenario-based training. These applications collectively transform passive study into active learning that better prepares healthcare professionals for practice.
Effective AI integration in healthcare education follows key principles that emphasise collaborative approaches where AI augments rather than replaces human expertise. Students can leverage AI to break down complex clinical procedures, simulate patient interactions, construct clinical reasoning trees, and receive adaptive feedback—all while maintaining professional judgement as the cornerstone of practice.
The ethical dimensions of AI implementation demand careful consideration, particularly regarding professional boundaries, data protection, and algorithmic bias. As healthcare education evolves with these technologies, the focus must remain on developing uniquely human aspects of care while building expertise in AI-enhanced practice. This shift in healthcare education promises to better prepare students for a future where AI-augmented clinical practice becomes standard, making “learning to learn with AI” a crucial professional skill.