The AI generation: ATSU integrates the latest technologies to educate healthcare professionals of the future
Posted: July 17, 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere. It’s become a popular topic in conversation and daily news headlines. While many people may feel intimidated or uninformed about AI, chances are, they are more familiar with it than they realize. One doesn’t have to be an expert on the latest technology to know how to ask Siri or Alexa to set a timer or add items to a grocery list. However, AI-based applications, like these personal assistants, are becoming more common to everyday life, including life at ATSU.
AI WROTE THIS ABOUT ITSELF
AI has undergone a remarkable evolution since its inception. The concept of AI emerged in the mid-20th century, with pioneers such as Alan Turing proposing the idea of machines that could exhibit intelligent behavior. Early AI systems focused on rule-based reasoning and symbolic manipulation, but progress was limited by computational power and the complexity of real-world problems. However, the field experienced a resurgence in the 21st century, driven by advances in computing technology, the availability of vast amounts of data, and breakthroughs in machine learning algorithms.
Today, AI permeates many aspects of our lives, from virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa to recommendation systems, autonomous vehicles, and medical diagnostics. Deep learning, a subfield of machine learning, has been particularly influential, enabling AI systems to learn from large datasets and make complex decisions with human-like proficiency. While AI has made tremendous strides, challenges remain, including ethical concerns, biases in algorithms, and the need for transparency and accountability in AI systems. Nevertheless, AI continues to transform industries and societies, promising a future of unprecedented innovation and opportunity.
WRITING WITH AI
Using ChatGPT, version 3.5, with the prompt “Please provide a paragraph or two on the history of AI and where it is today,” the previous two paragraphs were displayed within seconds. (Please and thank you go a long way, right?) Using the same prompt two more times, it gave similar versions of this response with slightly different wording, demonstrating its ability to offer multiple perspectives and levels of detail.
Responses will vary by the application and version used. In this writer’s experience, prompts are key to getting desired responses. According to ChatGPT, prompts play a vital role in guiding, clarifying, customizing, controlling, and optimizing interactions with AI systems. Essentially, quality inputs yield quality outputs. However, it is important to be aware of “AI hallucinations,” which are incorrect or nonsensical responses.
What is an AI HALLUCINATION?
A term used to describe a false, irrelevant, or misleading output generated by AI
WHERE IN THE WORLD OF AI IS ATSU?
As ChatGPT mentioned previously, AI has been around for decades. However, in the last few years, the use of generative AI has exploded with its powerful capability to produce complex and creative outputs of text, images, video, and more. Navigating the world of AI is daunting, and at times overwhelming, with new applications launching on a regular basis.
“AI is fueling many new tools because it can facilitate writing code. One example is the ability for virtual worlds to progress very quickly,” says Bryan Krusniak, MBA, chief information officer, ATSU. “There are new developments to learn about almost every day.”
The growing influence of AI applications stretches across industries, including education and healthcare, where ATSU intersects. ATSU has recognized it’s not a matter of if, but how, AI will be used throughout its operations. The University’s approach has been to embrace the technology and explore its uses by finding early adopters and supporting their endeavors.
“The University is actively exploring AI’s emerging role in healthcare and education,” says ATSU Chancellor Craig M. Phelps, DO, ’84. “We are using this opportunity to find innovative ways to learn, work, teach, and advance healthcare research and practice.”
Innovation is central to ATSU’s mission, and the University is filled with faculty and staff who are aligned with the mission and inclined to pursue activities propelling the University forward. Projects and initiatives using new learning technologies of AI, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (XR) are popping up across the University. These projects include enhanced learning activities, research projects, curriculum development, chatbots, customer relationship management, call monitoring, lead acquisition, and so much more.
The University views AI as a tool to enhance human intelligence and capabilities, not replace it. When used accordingly, the technology has the potential to increase efficiency across ATSU, and ultimately, empower students to become next-generation healthcare professionals.
“AI is a powerful tool,” Krusniak says. “Especially when put in the hands of those who have existing subject matter expertise.”
IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES
- AR (augmented reality) – overlays digital information or virtual objects onto real-world environment
- VR (virtual reality) – completely immersive digital environment simulating reality
- MR (mixed reality) – combines elements of AR and VR
- XR (extended reality) – umbrella term for all of the above
AI ON CAMPUS
A number of ATSU programs are integrating AI into their labs and clinical activities. Jonny Brennan, MD, DMD, MPH, ’11, assistant professor and associate dean, innovation and curriculum, ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH), has been at the forefront of the latest technology in dentistry. He says the School is carefully and judiciously stepping into AI with a few projects underway.
One of those projects is VideaTeach, an AI-powered gamified tool teaching students how to diagnose and plan treatment for oral diseases. Since October 2019, ATSU-ASDOH has partnered with VideaHealth AI to use this tool in the classroom where students view a series of dental radiographs and identify any problem areas. At the end of the series, students are shown their answers alongside AI’s answers. This provides an asynchronous, objective feedback mechanism for students to learn how to read dental radiographs early in their academic program.
Additionally, ATSU-ASDOH shared more than 1 million anonymized images and just as many metadata points with those images to give VideaTeach greater predictive success. VideaHealth AI has built its platform seamlessly into the School’s electronic dental record, allowing ATSU-ASDOH the ability to turn on its AI predictive technology as soon as the School completes development of its AI policy and implementation plan, which is in progress.
“We have one current faculty-supervised, student-led research project partnering with Overjet AI related to predictive analysis of 2D radiographs and are exploring another potential project with them around our new 3D Tomosynthesis technology by Portray,” Dr. Brennan says. “In addition, we are exploring potential research opportunities in collaboration with ATSU’s Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH) around using AI within a VR/AR/MR/XR context to develop a virtual campus where dental students from both programs can have a shared experience.”
Across campus at ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA), the Anatomy department added the Microsoft HoloLens 2 to its virtual anatomy curriculum last year. HoloLens 2 is an untethered MR headset enabling users to view computer-generated content displayed against their real-world surroundings. It adapts to the user’s hands, allowing students to touch, grasp, and move anatomical structures. It even allows students to “peel back” layers and study anatomical intricacies by simply stepping toward the model.
“At ATSU-SOMA, we have embraced MR using the Microsoft HoloLens 2 to harness the power of collaborative learning,” says Anna Campbell, PhD, associate professor and chair, anatomy, ATSU-SOMA. “Students engage in enriching discussions while navigating holographic anatomical models. They apply their knowledge of anatomy to real-world clinical cases. It is truly a unique learning experience.”
In Missouri at ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM), the original school of osteopathic medicine also keeps at the forefront of new learning technologies as medical education and clinical practice evolve. The College is looking at several AI applications for skill development and medical procedures.
“While AI cannot take the place of a physician’s ears, eyes, or hands, it will be useful in practicing new skills with high fidelity through simulation,” says Patricia Sexton, DHEd, FNAOME, ’08, associate dean, medical education, ATSU-KCOM. “We currently have a few early implementations on which our students practice in the human patient simulation lab.”
AI IN ONLINE EDUCATION
The University’s online college, ATSU’s College of Graduate Health Studies (ATSU-CGHS), is integrating AI in its education, research, and practice through course design, curriculum and program development, differential diagnoses, research analysis, and more.
For example, Erin Breitenbach, PhD, MEd, professor and chair, health education, ATSU-CGHS, is developing a recommended methodology for AI use in curriculum development. She has a dual purpose to her work. First, her goal is to ensure assignments, discussion posts, and other coursework continue to optimize critical thinking skills in students and are not easily produced using an AI prompt. Second, her goal is to maximize efficiency and accuracy in the development and fine tuning of learning outcomes and rubrics.
“AI is an accelerant, an opportunity to enhance what we do in our role as instructors,” Dr. Breitenbach says. “We need to be asking ourselves how we can leverage AI to make us work better as instructors.”
From a research standpoint, students and faculty are using ATLAS.ti, an AI-powered research analysis tool for qualitative research. This tool facilitates data analysis, allows for collaboration with team members, and automatically codes and summarizes documents, providing customized results. It saves time with manual tasks, allowing faculty and students to focus more time on their actual research.
Further, ATSU-CGHS is engaging students in its AI integration. In one course from the Doctor of Education in Health Professions program, ATSU-CGHS involved students in evaluating the presence and usefulness of a course chatbot, serving as a virtual help desk agent. Additionally, students were asked to examine ATSU-CGHS’ plagiarism policy and the University’s academic integrity policy to determine whether they fully encompassed emerging AI technology.
Students analyzed pros and cons of AI and presented recommendations to ATSU-CGHS deans. The deans reviewed recommendations, developed a position statement on AI use for the College, and revised its plagiarism policy based on student recommendations. ATSU-CGHS also made recommendations to the University for revisions of its academic integrity policy.
“All six departments in ATSU-CGHS have engaged students and faculty to ensure we are promoting the ethical use of AI. We want to recognize the many benefits AI offers, while also teaching responsible use and maintaining academic and professional integrity,” says ATSU-CGHS Dean Marisa Hastie, EdD, MS, ACSM EP-C, PN-1, FACSM. “Many courses now have assignments that provide opportunities for students to use AI for brainstorming, writing refinement, review, etc. Our team is learning alongside our students in exploring this powerful and evolving tool.”
AI IN A COURSE
Tricia Dabrowski, AuD, associate professor, audiology, ATSU’s Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU-ASHS), integrated AI into her Audiologic Rehabilitation course. As she considered how AI could be used, she questioned whether traditional course assessment methods reflected student knowledge and understanding of learning objectives and prepared them to apply concepts during clinical rotations and patient care.
Previously, the course grade was weighted heavily on the student’s ability to develop a five-week group aural rehabilitation program. Course content included lesson plan development and facilitation skills, which limited time spent on rehabilitative methods, like communication and speech perception training or development of patient resources. Dr. Dabrowski hoped time spent developing this group program would increase the likelihood of its implementation when students entered clinical practice.
As Dr. Dabrowski experimented with AI to see how it might affect this course component, she discovered ChatGPT completed this heavily weighted assignment in 15 seconds. Realizing a different approach was needed, she reconsidered what she truly wanted students to learn, which was how to provide comprehensive audiologic rehabilitation to patients. Helping students understand the benefits associated with each rehabilitative technique became more important than developing their group program.
The new course introduces students to the importance of patient-centered care and age-related hearing changes, which limit an older patient’s success with amplification. Students spend more time investigating the patient’s perspective and researching supporting perceptual training, benefits of communication strategies, and consequences of communication behaviors. Throughout the course, students use AI tools to investigate ways to improve quality of care, design decision aids, identify community-based referral resources, and show how easy it is to design and implement group audiologic rehabilitation programs. The follow-up discussions generated by these activities proved to be an invaluable course asset.
“I’m still refining the course design as we consider ways to use AI and to evaluate the quality of the provided content, but the first attempt felt like we were moving in the right direction,” Dr. Dabrowski says.
AI IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH
In the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at ATSU-ASHS, assistant professor Sara Parker, PT, DPT, just completed her first year teaching the Documentation & Clinical Reasoning course. In this course, students learn how to document in all aspects of the profession, and writing patient goals is an important component. Traditionally, goals have been taught using the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) framework.
“In previous first-year comprehensive practical documentation, it was apparent students had not grasped the concept of including all components of the SMART framework,” Dr. Parker says. “This can lead to poor clinical reasoning and, ultimately, lack of reimbursement for skilled services.”
To address students’ difficulty with writing patient goals, Dr. Parker tried to find an innovative way to teach students this skill. She considered the growing popularity of ChatGPT and thought this course was a perfect fit for implementing AI. She then collaborated with Julie Speer, PhD, MS, and Brittany Williams, MS, from ATSU’s Teaching & Learning Center and received approval from ATSU’s Institutional Review Board for a research project titled “AI-based Learning Activity to Teach Physical Therapy Students How to Write SMART Goals.”
As a learning activity and research project, Dr. Parker’s hope was for students to explore using AI in a guided and healthy way, produce accurate and comprehensive SMART goals with real-time feedback, and learn how to use ChatGPT as a tool for future learning. It was delivered to students as a survey with four parts: playground to introduce ChatGPT, guided prompts to learn about SMART goals, clarifying lecture, and practice developing patient cases and writing their own goals.
From the data, Dr. Parker found statistically significant improvements in students’ ability to identify SMART goal components and write them accurately. She says many students retained this knowledge and used this tool to help them modify their goals in later assignments. She also says one of the greatest benefits of this activity was the real-time or formative feedback the platform provided. Students were able to see their mistakes and fix them immediately, without waiting for instructor feedback.
“The intent of the activity was to provide students with a tool to learn materials throughout their career,” Dr. Parker says. “I believe AI-based learning has limitless possibilities; however, we need to ensure we scaffold it in a safe way to uphold academic integrity.”
SPECIAL INITIATIVE FUNDING
To encourage further exploration of AI across the University, ATSU made financial support available to faculty and teams pursuing innovative projects using this technology. In early 2024, ATSU’s Division of Research, Grants & Scholarly Innovations announced seven proposals were funded under this one-time, internal AI/MR Innovation in Health Professions Education Grant competition. Collectively, $28,476.55 was awarded for seven proposed projects.
“AI is everywhere you turn,” says Milton Pong, PhD, associate professor, ATSU-SOMA, and a recipient of ATSU’s special initiative funding. “We think it has a place in medical education, too. The challenge is finding the right place. Instead of threatening what we do, we hope AI can help us do our jobs better. It may take a few iterations to get to where we want to be, so our project will start us on this journey.”
Another recipient of the special initiative funding is Brittney Hulsey, DMSc, PA-C, associate professor and program director, physician assistant studies, ATSU-ASHS, who took an interprofessional approach to using AI by collaborating with Dr. Anna Campbell and third-year medical student Anna King from ATSU-SOMA. The project, “Beyond the Surface: Augmented Reality in Procedural Skill Development in Physician Assistant Education,” assesses the feasibility and value of integrating AR technology in a physician assistant clinical skills course.
The project’s aim is to enhance learning and course delivery by using the Microsoft HoloLens 2 technology in combination with physical models, ultimately improving students’ anatomical understanding and procedural skills. The current course relies on physical models to teach students to perform medical procedures. However, physical models are limited in showing underlying anatomical structures, which are critical for comprehensive understanding of the procedures performed.
“While students are presumed to possess foundational knowledge of anatomy from prior coursework and preparatory materials, the existing training setup lacks direct visualization of relevant anatomical landmarks and spatial relationships,” Dr. Hulsey says.
She hopes using AR technology alongside physical models will address these limitations. By overlying specific holographic models onto the physical models, this innovation will allow students to see and identify anatomical landmarks necessary for successful procedures in real time.
“It is possible a comprehensive visual understanding will contribute significantly to students’ knowledge and preparedness in performing procedures and understanding complications with an anatomical basis,” Dr. Hulsey says. “By combining AR with traditional methods, the study will reflect a flexible education delivery system that accommodates diverse learners.”
HOW WILL AI AFFECT ATSU STUDENTS?
With AI and other technologies advancing by the day, it is difficult to predict what challenges and opportunities ATSU students will face by the time they become practicing professionals. At the rate AI has advanced in the last year alone, this technology could, and likely will, look much different several years from now when current first-year students enter their respective professions. As with everything, students will need to be lifelong learners and adjust with the times.
“When it comes to advanced technologies, what do we need to teach our students, and how do we prepare them? ATSU needs to continue preparing students for what could be,” Krusniak says. “One of ATSU’s core professional attributes (CPAs) is critical thinking, and this component will be crucial for students to be able to evaluate and validate AI responses.”
The CPAs are a set of five cross-curricular meta-skills inherent to all ATSU graduates. They enable graduates to select, adapt, and apply their discipline-specific knowledge and skills to varying situations. This enhances their competence as healthcare professionals and ultimately improves outcomes in aspects of their professional roles.
The future of healthcare lies in the hands of professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills to use advanced technology effectively. As AI gets smarter, the demand for healthcare professionals who understand how to leverage AI as a tool will continue to grow. By integrating AI into curricula and preparing students to navigate its complexities, ATSU is not only shaping the next generation of healthcare leaders but also ensuring they are well-prepared to meet the evolving needs of patients and healthcare systems.
FUNDED PROPOSALS
“Development of an Interactive Artificial Intelligence (AI) Virtual Reality (VR) Dental Simulated Patient as a Learning Activity for Dental Students” – $4,950
Richard Allinson, DDS, assistant professor, ATSU- MOSDOH, with collaborators Grishondra Branch- Mays, DDS, MS; Graziela Batista, DDS, PhD; Leila Nasiry Khanlar, DDS, PhD, MSc; Dave Kojic, DMD, PhD, MS; Hanan Omar, BDS, PhD, MSc; and Ammar Musawi, MDS, BDS, MPH
“Use of Virtual and Mixed Reality in Enhancing Dental Education” – $5,000
Amira Elgreatly, BDS, MS, FAGD, associate professor, ATSU-ASDOH, with collaborators Ahmed Mahrous, BDS, MS, FACP; Jonathan Brennan, MD, DMD, MPH; Erin Maruska, DMD, MPH, FAGD; William Madaio, DMD; and Klud Razoky, BDS, NZDREX
“Beyond the Surface: Augmented Reality in Procedural Skill Development in Physician Assistant Education” – $2,000
Brittney Hulsey, DMSc, PA-C, associate professor and program director, ATSU-ASHS’ Physician Assistant Studies program, with collaborators Anna Campbell, PhD, and Anna King, OMS III, from ATSU-SOMA
“AI-Assisted Crown Margin Identification: A Comparative Faculty Development Program” – $4,526.55
Ahmed Mahrous, BDS, MS, FACP, associate professor, ATSU-ASDOH, with collaborators Jonny Brennan, MD, DMD, MPH; Amira Elgreatly, BDS, MS, FAGD; Mindy Motahari, DMD, MAEd; Tamer El-Gendy, DMD, BDS, MS; and Ann Spolarich, PhD, RDH, FSCDH
“Harnessing the Power of AI Image Generators/Manipulators for Creating Custom Innovative Anatomical Resources” – $3,500
John Olson, PhD, professor, and Anna Campbell, PhD, associate professor and chair, anatomy, ATSU-SOMA
“Holographic Medical Imaging Overlays: An Interactive Medical Image Holographic Visualization System for 3D Headsets in an Educational Environment” – $3,500
John Olson, PhD, professor, ATSU-SOMA
“Finding a Place for Artificial Intelligence in Foundational Medical Science Education” – $5,000
Milton Pong, PhD, associate professor, ATSU- SOMA, with collaborators Timothy Shipley, PhD, and Robert Lewis, PhD
A HUMAN-TO-HUMAN Q&A
with Kevin Farberow, DHSc, ’12
Dr. Farberow is vice president of strategic partnerships at Atropos Health, an organization rapidly transforming medical data into real-world evidence, closing evidence gaps in medicine, and expediting research. He also holds positions with the Medical Reserve Corps and Community Emergency Response Team. In addition, he stays apprised of advances in technology and remains engaged with the global health community, including participating in the recent Intelligent Health AI global summit in Basel, Switzerland.
Q: What are some benefits and challenges you’ve experienced with AI?
A: There are lots of benefits I’ve experienced firsthand by using AI. For example, comparing clinical outcomes or even therapeutic areas of focus across multiple international health systems, I was able to quickly generate a summary report detailing all the variables I wanted to contrast by country. On the other hand, there are a host of notable challenges I’ve faced using AI applications. Using the previous example, ensuring scholarly sources are retrieved or cited is an issue with certain AI applications. In another example, I’ve come to appreciate the accuracy of AI applications depends on multiple factors, including training data, update frequencies, and even bias.
Q: What role will AI play in healthcare?
A: I think a more appropriate question is what role will AI not play in healthcare?! From returning results on complicated clinical questions, to summarizing or even translating languages of real-world evidence derived from real-world data, all the way to helping refine hypotheses.
Q: Which areas of healthcare do you think AI will havethe biggest impact and why?
A: One of the healthcare areas I foresee AI having the biggest impact is in alleviating clinician burnout and automating administrative tasks in clinical workflow, including drug discovery, prior authorization, and claims adjudication.
Q: Is AI ready to take over the healthcare world?
A: AI is just not ready to be unilaterally relied on for clinical decision support without a human in the middle. Additionally, until the percentage of AI hallucinations improves, be conscientious of the positive and negative results before totally relying on AI.
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