Shiraz Medical Students’ Attitudes toward Using Artificial Intelligence in Writing

The advent of ChatGPT as an artificial intelligence (AI) tool has changed the classroom atmosphere among medical students leading to controversial issues in education, particularly in writing. Although some medical students exhibit strong inclination to use ChatGPT in their writing classes, most professors are still uncertain about the outcome.  This study tries to assess medical students’ attitudes toward using ChatGPT in their academics writing course held in the Fall semester, 2023. An intact class of medical students from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) took part in this qualitative research. Two semi structured interviews were conducted at the beginning of the course, prior to the implication of ChatGPT in revising their essay writing, and after completing the course. Braun and Clark thematic analysis was applied to analyze the interview data.  Six main codes were identified about using ChatGPT (i.e., familiarity, speed, vocabulary range, structure, teacher’s role, plagiarism). At first, most students, whether those who were familiar with ChatGPT or those who had only heard of it, agreed with its positive effect. But after using ChatGPT, their opinions about using ChatGPT in class were changed.  This study may provide an insight for educators who are interested in using AI in a learning environment. However, without professors’ management, using ChatGPT in higher education cannot enhance students’ writing skill efficiently. To this end, both students and their professors should increase their language knowledge and general knowledge to use it in the best and most effective way in education.