(363) Interpreting the AI Rx: Pharmacy Students' Perspectives on Chatbots in Education

Objective : To assess the perceptions and attitudes of pharmacy students toward the integration of large language model (LLM) chatbots in pharmacy education and determine if prior experience yields more positive perceptions.

Methods: An electronic survey designed to assess acceptance and use of LLM chatbots was developed based on the previously validated TAME-ChatGPT tool. The survey was disseminated to students enrolled in didactic drug information courses at two schools of pharmacy in November 2023. Second-year students had previously completed an assignment to use chatbots to answer a drug information question, while first- and third-year students had not. Differences in attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors toward chatbots were evaluated using identified sub-scales within the survey: perceived usefulness, ease of use, risks, anxiety, attitude toward the technology, social influence, and behavioral factors.

Results: The survey yielded a response rate of 85.1% (234/275). Of the respondents, 213 (91.0%) had previously heard of chatbots and 138 (64.8%) self-reported chatbot use. Overall, the study population expressed a slightly negative view of chatbots across all sub-scales except for perceived ease of use and technology/social influence. Students who had not used chatbots prior to the study had a higher perceived risk (p <.001) and a less positive attitude toward technology like chatbots (p <.001) compared with students who had used chatbots.

Conclusions: A year after the introduction of ChatGPT into the public domain, our findings suggest that pharmacy students are hesitant toward chatbot-integration in pharmacy curricula, despite positive perceptions regarding ease of use and technological progress exemplified by chatbots. Less negative scores from students who completed a chatbot assignment suggest that guidance from course instructors and assigned practice with LLM chatbots may improve attitudes and perceptions.