Transforming Military Healthcare Education and Training: AI Integration for Future Readiness

INTRODUCTION: Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have spread throughout the world and changed the way that many social functions are conducted, including health care. Future large-scale combat missions will likely require health care professionals to utilize AI tools among other tools in providing care for the Warfighter. Despite the need for an AI-capable health care force, medical education lacks an integration of medical AI knowledge. The purpose of this manuscript was to review ways that military health care education can be improved with an understanding of and using AI technologies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This article is a review of the literature regarding the integration of AI technologies in medicine and medical education. We do provide examples of quotes and images from a larger USU study on a Faculty Development program centered on learning about AI technologies in health care education. The study is not complete and is not the focus of this article, but was approved by the USU IRB.

RESULTS: Effective integration of AI technologies in military health care education requires military health care educators that are willing to learn how to safely, effectively, and ethically use AI technologies in their own administrative, educational, research, and clinical roles. Together with health care trainees, these faculties can help to build and co-create AI-integrated curricula that will accelerate and enhance the military health care curriculum of tomorrow. Trainees can begin to use generative AI tools, like large language models, to begin to develop their skills and practice the art of generating high-quality AI tools that will improve their studies and prepare them to improve military health care. Integration of AI technologies in the military health care environment requires close military-industry collaborations with AI and security experts to ensure personal and health care information security. Through secure cloud computing, blockchain technologies, and Application Programming Interfaces, among other technologies, military health care facilities and systems can safely integrate AI technologies to enhance patient care, clinical research, and health care education.

CONCLUSIONS: AI technologies are not a dream of the future, they are here, and they are being integrated and implemented in military health care systems. To best prepare the military health care professionals of the future for the reality of medical AI, we must reform military health care education through a combined effort of faculty, students, and industry partners.