Title
School of Medicine: Offices of Medical Student Education: Policy on Artificial Intelligence
Introduction
Purpose
This Policy addresses the integration of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("University") School of Medicine's ("SOM") Medical Doctorate degree ("MD") program ("Program") curriculum and delineates acceptable uses of AI Tools by the Program's students ("Students").
Scope
This Policy applies to: (i) Students in all Phases of the Program's curriculum and at all regional campuses/sites; and (ii) SOM faculty responsible for its implementation.
Policy
Policy Statement
SOM is dedicated to supporting innovation in learning and advancements which further its goals of providing excellent teaching, research, and patient care. AI Tools may support learning when used responsibly, transparently, and in ways that strengthen, but do not replace, Student thinking, clinical reasoning, and professional development. Students who use AI Tools remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all the work they submit. AI Tool usage should assist and not replace Student learning.
Course and clerkship directors may establish alternative expectations for specific learning activities or assessments. Unless explicitly prohibited by their course director, Students may use University-provided AI Tools and tools provided by their clinical sites to support their learning in the following limited ways:
- reviewing and reinforcing concepts, differential diagnoses, and treatment guidelines;
- exploring clinical reasoning and decision-making frameworks;
- preparing for examinations and shelf exams;
- generating study aids or practice questions for personal use; and
- brainstorming ideas.
Students are responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated information.
Boundaries and Restrictions on AI Use
Limits on AI Tool use are necessary to ensure Students develop and demonstrate their own clinical reasoning, knowledge, and professional judgment. Because AI Tool outputs may be inaccurate, biased, or incomplete, AI Tools should be used to support learning, not replace independent thinking, clinical decision-making, or accountability. Students' AI Tool use must follow the requirements below in the following situations:
Assessments and Assignments
Students are prohibited from using AI Tools to complete assessments, assignments, and reflections intended to evaluate a Student's individual knowledge, judgment, or clinical reasoning unless explicitly authorized by their course instructor. When AI use is allowed, Students must disclose that use in the manner required by their course instructor.
Students are permitted to use AI Tools on assessments and assignments to review their work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting issues as long as the AI Tools used do not alter the content of Students' original work. Students are not required to disclose such AI usage unless otherwise specified by their course instructor.
Students must disclose AI Tool use for Citation-Management Assistance.
Clinical Documentation and Patient-related Work
Students must follow the policy and privacy rules and requirements of their clinical site in using AI Tools for clinical documentation. Unless supported by approved institutional systems or explicitly permitted by a course, clerkship, or clinical site, Students may not use AI Tools to generate, substantially modify, or fabricate History and Physicals, patient notes, assessments, plans, or case presentations.
Patient Confidentiality and Sensitive Information
Students may not enter protected health information ("PHI") into any AI Tool unless they have been explicitly informed by the University or their clinical site, as applicable, that the tool is HIPAA-compliant and approved for the use of PHI. PHI, FERPA-protected records, personally identifiable information ("PII"), and other sensitive data may not be entered into public, non-approved, or otherwise unauthorized AI Tools.
Proprietary Faculty-generated Teaching Materials
Students may not upload faculty-generated teaching materials to any external AI Tool platform. Microsoft Copilot and Large Language Models (LLMs) accessed through the UNC PromptLab are permitted for this purpose.
AI Meeting Summaries
Students may not use AI-generated meeting summaries without the knowledge and consent of all meeting participants. This applies to in-person meetings and virtual meetings, including Zoom. Students should follow University best practices for notifying meeting participants of their use of AI-generated meeting summaries.
These restrictions are intended to be consistent with University guidance and align Students' AI Tool use with learning goals and University expectations regarding responsible use of AI Tools and sensitive data.
Clinical Use
Students cannot rely on AI-generated output as a substitute for clinical judgment. A clinical site's policies may impose additional restrictions or limitations on AI Tool use, which Students must follow.
Violations
A Student's improper use of an AI Tool, as determined by their course director, may constitute a violation of course policy, professionalism standards, and/or academic integrity expectations and may result in assignment failure, loss of professionalism points, course failure, referral to the Student Progress Committee, and/or referral through the University's student conduct processes.
Policy Updates
Because AI technologies and institutional guidance are evolving rapidly, this Policy is subject to periodic review and revision. Students can email the help inbox of their respective Phase to request guidance:
Definitions
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools: Technology which simulates human intelligence, either in computer programs or robotics.
Machine Learning Tools: AI tools that us algorithms to "learn" patterns from data and adjust their processes based on trends identified in such data. Ex: Spam filters.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) Tools: AI Tools that understand or generate text (e.g., Chatbots).
Citation-Management Assistance: Refers to support, tools, and guidance that help individuals collect, organize, store, and format references and bibliographic information used in academic, professional, or research writing.
Computer Vision Tools: AI Tools that interpret images or video (e.g., Facial recognition).
Speech Recognition Tools: AI Tools that convert spoken language into text (e.g., Voice assistants).
Generative AI Tools: AI Tools that create content from the input of a user such as text, images, or code rather than just analyzing existing data.
HIPAA-compliant: Compliant with the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA").
FERPA-protected Records: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects educational records that contain information directly related to a Student such as grades, class schedules, and advising notes.
Protected Health Information (PHI): Any individually identifiable health information such as a patient's name linked to a diagnosis, test results, medical record number, date of birth, or address when connected to health information.
Personally identifiable information (PII): Information that can be used to identify, contact, or trace a person such as name, date and place of birth, address, email address, or biometric data.
Related Requirements
External Regulations and Resources
University AI Guidance Documents:
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Name: Heather Tarantino, Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs
Email: heather_tarantino@med.unc.edu
Publication Details
- Issuing Officer: Anthony Passannante, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Student Education, Anthony_Passannante@med.unc.edu
- Effective Date: July 20, 2026
- Next Review Date: July 20, 2028