Session Design Submission Review

Yes

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI), though relatively new, is rapidly transforming multiple industries. Within surgical education, however, its adoption remains limited across the continuum– from medical students to faculty educators. Generative AI, powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), enables users to synthesize original content from existing data, offering immense potential for innovation in teaching, simulation, and assessment. Despite broad accessibility, integration of these tools into surgical education remains constrained by limited technical expertise, lack of faculty training, and the absence of institutional frameworks for ethical and pedagogically sound implementation.

The collaboration between the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Sub-Workgroup and the Center for Surgery and Public Health (CSPH) at Mass General Brigham proposes an interactive, hands-on workshop designed to equip participants with a foundational technical understanding of how to use and customize a type of LLM known as a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT). Using the widely recognized ChatGPT platform, participants will learn to design, test, and evaluate educational “bots” that align with specific surgical learning objectives.

The session will begin with a brief, video-recorded demonstration showcasing an example of a facilitator or trainee interacting with a standardized patient chatbot, similar to what participants will experience during the workshop. This introduction will help attendees—especially those unfamiliar with AI-based simulations—better visualize the potential of generative models in medical and surgical education. Following this, participants will receive a live tutorial on generative AI principles, the ChatGPT interface, and practical applications in education. Participants will then work in small groups to define a learning objective, design an evaluative component, and build a “synthetic patient” or “synthetic educator” aligned with that goal. Through structured templates, participants will translate their objectives into a functioning GPT model. To deepen engagement, groups will have the opportunity to briefly test or demonstrate interactions with their models, highlighting creative and pedagogical potential. The session will conclude with a reflective discussion on lessons learned, implementation barriers, and strategies for responsible adoption in institutional settings.

This workshop is grounded in Experiential Learning Framework and Constructivist Learning Theory, emphasizing active engagement, reflection, and iterative application. Through guided discovery, peer collaboration, and hands-on design, participants will integrate new knowledge into practice– aligning with adult learning principles of relevance, self-direction, and immediate applicability to surgical education.

All participants must have an active ChatGPT account and bring a laptop/tablet. Participants may use either a free or paid ChatGPT account– while the paid version is preferred for building GPTs, it is not required for participation. The workshop emphasizes accessibility, demonstrating how free and paid versions can be leveraged as educational tools regardless of institutional resources, whether participants come from large simulation centers or resource-limited settings. Facilitators will provide handouts, templates, and optional digital resources to support continued development beyond the workshop, which can be kept for building customized GPTs at participants’ own institutions. Please note that this session will not focus on basic ChatGPT use; rather, it will guide participants in building a customized GPT tailored to their specific surgical education needs.

90-minute workshop

Yes

Yes

Participants will be able to convey the basic principles of generative artificial intelligence and its potential applications within surgical education.

Participants will be able to design and customize a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) using ChatGPT to align with specific educational objectives

Participants will be able to evaluate and refine AI-generated educational tools by integrating learner assessment methods and reflecting on best practices for implementation in academic settings.