Abstract
BACKGROUND: Today, YouTube and ChatGPT are used for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from entertainment to complex teaching. The content needs neither external approval nor quality assurance. We investigated how often doctors used YouTube and ChatGPT, how widespread their use was and the degree of confidence doctors had in these resources for teaching and training surgical procedures. METHODS: In November 2023, we conducted a survey among doctors working in all the surgical departments of the University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø. The questionnaire assessed use of and confidence in YouTube and ChatGPT and background data. For our analysis, we used frequency tables and association analysis. The study formed the basis for the second-year thesis of the first authors. RESULTS: Out of a total of 152 doctors, 96 participated. Among the participants, 97% used YouTube and 14% used ChatGPT for teaching or training. There was no significant correlation between work experience and use (YouTube: p = 0.14, ChatGPT: p = 0.88). YouTube was used every month by 48%, while 2% used ChatGPT monthly. 60% of the doctors had a medium level of confidence that the content of YouTube was consistent with Norwegian procedures and standards, while 69% had low confidence in this aspect for ChatGPT. CONCLUSIONS: In November 2023, there was frequent and widespread use of YouTube to teach and train surgical procedures. The ChatGPT language model was rarely used, and the doctors had low confidence in its content. The future use of online learning platforms, language models and artificial intelligence for surgery training has an uncertain potential that warrants further research.