What the AI era doctor should know: a scoping review of proposed artificial intelligence competencies for medical education

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping healthcare and the competencies expected of graduating medical students, yet AI curricula and competency recommendations for undergraduate medical education (UME) remain fragmented. We conducted a PRISMA-ScR scoping review to map and synthesize proposed AI competencies for UME by performing a global search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and ERIC without language restrictions and from database inception through July 28, 2025. Verbatim competency-relevant text was extracted and decomposed into discrete statements and classified using domains, competencies, or learning objectives. Statement frequencies were summarized to characterize recurring areas of emphasis, underrepresented topics, and cross-domain relationships. Of 4071 records identified, 54 studies from 22 countries met inclusion criteria. From 564 eligible statements, we synthesized a taxonomy comprising seven domains (AI ethics; AI law and regulation; AI professionalism in healthcare; clinical applications of AI; critical appraisal of AI output; research and innovation in AI; theory and foundations of AI) spanning 37 competencies and 170 learning objectives. Sources were predominantly editorial/opinion, with recurring emphasis on ethicolegal oversight, critical appraisal of AI outputs, and foundational understanding of AI methods and data. This synthesis provides a structured inventory to inform curriculum planning and future stakeholder-based refinement, prioritization, and evaluation.