AI Reshapes Medical Residency Application Landscape

Key Insights on AI in Residency Applications

• A notable rise in AI utilization has been observed in personal statements for dermatology residency applications.
• The traditional role of personal statements in distinguishing applicants within this highly competitive field may be undergoing a significant transformation.

The widespread availability of ChatGPT before the 2024 dermatology residency application cycle triggered a significant increase in AI use among medical student applications, a study in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology has found.

"Clinicians and program directors involved in the residency selection process should be aware that [large language model] usage is on the rise and has been increasingly detected in personal statements submitted to dermatology programs," Priya Patel Housley, MS, a study investigator from the University of Florida College of Medicine, informed Healio.

Data derived from Housley PP, et al. J Drugs Dermatol. 2025;doi:10.36849/JDD.8914.

Study Details: Uncovering AI in Applications

Under Housley's leadership, researchers analyzed 1,500 dermatology residency personal statements submitted between 2022 and 2024 to detect AI-generated content. Their methodology involved using 20 AI-generated positive controls, nine human-written negative controls, and three AI detection software tools: ZeroGPT, Quillbot, and Scribbr.

Priya Patel Housley

The detection tools, recognized for their high sensitivity and accuracy, indicated a greater likelihood of AI generation in personal statements from 2024 compared to earlier years.

AI Detection Rates Show Sharp Increase

Specifically, Quillbot identified AI-generated text in 11.6% of statements from 2022, 14.4% from 2023, and a significant jump to 37.9% in 2024. Scribbr's findings were similar, detecting AI presence in 13.5% (2022), 14.3% (2023), and 30.3% (2024) of statements. ZeroGPT, however, reported considerably lower rates: 3.6% for 2022, 3.3% for 2023, and 4.6% for 2024.

Impact on Residency Selection

Dr. Marjorie Montanez-Wiscovich, MD, PhD, FAAD, another investigator from the University of Florida College of Medicine's department of dermatology, stated that while these findings might not pose "a direct clinical issue," they could significantly affect the resident selection process.

Marjorie Montanez-Wiscovich

"Dermatology is notably a competitive specialty, and many programs utilize these personal statements to gauge qualities that are difficult to quantify — empathy, motivation and program fit," Montanez-Wiscovich explained. "As previous metrics utilized by program directors have become binary — pass/fail preclinical grades — emphasis has been placed on performing holistic application reviews, entailing a possible greater weight for personal statements. Ultimately, the dermatology clinical workforce may be altered by this change in the applicant evaluation process."

Navigating the Future: Recommendations for Program Directors

Housley and Montanez-Wiscovich suggest that program directors should reassess how personal statements are used in interview selections and develop a strategy for regulating AI usage. The researchers indicated that approaches could range from permitting AI with disclosure to outright prohibition, a matter still under consideration.

"Program directors should be aware that [large language model] usage is on the rise," Housley reiterated. "While some statements may no longer reflect an applicant’s own voice, others will continue to be genuine — a challenging distinction to make, as to not penalize the latter group of applicants."

For More Information

Marjorie Montanez-Wiscovich, MD, PhD, FAAD, can be reached at dermatology@healio.com.

Priya Patel Housley, MS, can be reached at patel.priya@ufl.edu.