Guidance on Artificial Intelligence
HEIW Medical Deanery Statement on AI
The Medical Deanery in HEIW has been asked by several of our stakeholders about its position on the use of AI in training, and particularly our view on its use by Resident doctors and trainers on completion of learning logs and other elements of the Trainee Portfolio. It has also been cited as being used in national selection processes.
The use of generative AI is a rapidly developing area in our personal and professional lives. Examples include spell checkers, predictive text, voice assistants in simple everyday use to Open AI and the use of large language models to support healthcare learning and administrative tasks. It is not possible to mandate that Residents never use AI when updating their portfolios. In fact, the NHS 10-year Health Plan for England highlights the need for AI as a tool to empower clinicians, help reduce administrative burdens and enable more time for patient care.
Useful guidance on the use of AI tools has already been published by the RCGP (RCGP statement on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in postgraduate training, examinations and registration) and the Russell Group (Russell Group principles on the use of generative AI tools in education (PDF file, 126 KB)). Further guidance is being produced by Royal Colleges and when released should be considered alongside this document.
Guiding Principles for AI use in Portfolios
Considerations
- AI is a tool to enhance learning and support critical thinking, reflection and writing. Residents should still practice and develop these skills independently and not overly rely on AI.
- AI uses patterns it has learned from data to predict and infer.
- AI has no memory or emotion and can appear biased, the use of appropriate prompts are important.
Authenticity and Ownership
- Portfolio entries should reflect the author’s own ideas, reflections and experiences.
- AI tools may be used to support the approach to reflective practice, but core content must be based on original work and be grounded in the users’ thoughts, feelings and personal/professional values.
Privacy and Data security
- Users should never put sensitive information or personal data into AI tools particularly in the context of generating case reflections (see RCPCH guidance on reflective notes on portfolios).
- Individuals must be aware that they may be plagiarising the work of others without knowing about it as the tools represent information developed by others.
Use of AI in recruitment and selection
NHS England have reviewed data on the use of AI at the point of interview. Residents and trainers should be aware of the consequences of using AI to generate answers at online interviews.
Position statement on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) during interviews | Medical Hub
Summary
We are hopeful that the use of AI will enhance the training experience for residents and trainers. There is an expectation AI is used responsibly and when asked, individuals are transparent about its use.