The effectiveness of GAI-assisted teaching methods in medical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective The study evaluated the effectiveness of generative artificial intelligence (GAI)-assisted teaching methods on the medical educational outcomes. Methods Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted for literature on AI-assisted educational interventions in medical education (e.g. clinical, nursing and dentistry medicine). PROSPERO registration number was CRD420251173150. Meta-analyses of the outcomes were performed using the Review Manager 5.4. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I 2 statistic and Cochran's Q test. A forest plot, Egger's test and the trim-and-fill method were used to evaluate publication bias and robustness. Results A total of 5,764 publications was initially retrieved, of which 78 studies involving 3,635 medical students in the GAI-assisted teaching group and 3,931 medical students in the control group were included. The pooled results revealed that GAI-assisted teaching significantly improved academic performance in terms of both knowledge (SMD = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.72–1.18, p < 0.05) and practical (SMD = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.20–1.77, p < 0.05) scores, compared to the control group. Additional benefits included improved student satisfaction (SMD = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.01–2.02, p < 0.05), self-efficacy in learning (SMD = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.17–1.32, p < 0.05), learning initiative (SMD = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.10–2.30, p < 0.05), self-directed learning ability (SMD = 1.25, 95% CI: 0.81–1.69, p < 0.05), clinical thinking ability (SMD = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.86–1.50, p < 0.05) and analytical and problem-solving skills (SMD = 1.53, 95% CI: 0.77–2.29, p < 0.05). Conclusions The results showed that the GAI-assisted teaching could improve efficiently various aspects of education outcomes for medical students, including academic performance, self-efficacy and initiative in learning, and skills development. In future, policymakers should consider integrating artificial intelligence into teacher training and medical curriculum design to improve learning outcomes.