Four ways to use ChatGPT as a medical student

When studying at medical school, the workload can be difficult to manage with the complex scientific modules, working in hospitals and staying up to date with changes in the medical field. 

There are lots of ways to work smarter – not harder – so you can save time, energy and focus on the most important learning in your degree. Artificial intelligence software (like ChatGPT) has created a stir in higher education, with several universities and business schools banning the use of the AI tool due to concerns of plagiarism.

However, there is a shift in thinking around how we can use this software to benefit our studies, without relying on it to think for us. Here’s how I use Chat GPT to help me learn smarter as a medical student.

How to use ChatGPT in your studies

Head to chat.openai.com and register for a free account. Then enter your question in the box like you’re chatting to a person. In my experience, I’ve found that the more accurate and specific I can be, the more helpful AI is in helping with my learning. 

You can use ChatGPT to:

Research study topics

I use ChatGPT to research topics I’m about to learn in class. This helps me to make notes and gain the foundational knowledge I need before the professor takes us into further detail. I no longer need to browse multiple websites and spend hours looking for the best information. ChatGPT provides all the necessary information in a couple of clicks. This gives me more time to study the topic itself and to build knowledge in class. 

I recently prepared for a topic on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of glomerulonephritis. Previously when looking for information, some sites provided false information and referenced outdated methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Now I open ChatGPT and type in the request 'make a summary on the topic of glomerulonephritis from the latest sources of evidence-based medicine' and the bot provides me with all the necessary information in a compressed format.

By using the words 'from the latest sources in evidence-based medicine', you ensure information from sources of evidence-based medicine is checked improving accuracy, and ChatGPT will also examine the date information was published to ensure it's current.

Get help when you don’t understand

In medicine, there’s a lot of complex medical information to learn, from conditions to symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and equipment. There will be topics you thrive in and topic you struggle to understand. ChatGPT can be a great tool to gain a simplified explanation. 

I often use ChatGPT to ask 'Can you explain what X is, in a simple way?' which can give me a fresh perspective. 

Plan and prioritise tasks

With ChatGPT, I can ask it to plan my day and add the tasks I need to complete alongside my other responsibilities. The programme can draw up a schedule by hour, indicating how much time you should devote to a particular subject and when. 

If I made my own schedule, it would take me about half an hour and I would have to think about how much time to spend on a walk with friends, writing an article and reading a book. With the help of ChatGPT, I simply enter my data and it takes less than one minute to receive a ready-made plan for the day.

It often happens that plans change dramatically and you need to quickly figure out what and when to do. In this case, ChatGPT can also help. If I describe my current schedule and write that I need to make adjustments to it by adding new items, ChatGPT will analyse the situation and give recommendations on how to change the schedule.

Listen to long, scientific text

ChatGPT can read book chapters and scientific journal articles aloud, which helps me to focus and absorb more information. I learn better by listening to information rather than reading it, so this is a helpful function. I often use this function when I’m on the go, so I can keep studying without taking a book with me. 

ChatGPT penetrates more and more into our lives and can help to make things simpler. As you can see, with the help of this neural network, you can make the life of a medical student much easier.