Canadian Medical Students Interested in Radiology Report Greater Perceived Importance of Procedural Roles and Greater Career Sustainability Amid Artificial Intelligence.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Artificial intelligence (AI) integration and perceptions of radiology's procedural scope may influence medical students' interest in radiology. We aimed to determine whether perceptions of radiology's scope and AI integration differed according to student interest in radiology. METHODS: An anonymous cross-sectional survey containing binary, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions was distributed to medical students at a Canadian institution (N=73; 19.7% effective response rate). Responses were stratified by interest in radiology. Group comparisons used Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney U tests; correlations were assessed using Spearman's coefficient. Open-ended responses were grouped into recurring categories. RESULTS: Interested students rated greater perceived importance of procedural-role items, including therapeutic procedures (median 7 vs 5; p=0.0248), with significant positive correlations between radiology interest and perceived importance of both therapeutic (r=0.3710, p=0.0020) and diagnostic procedures (r=0.2615, p=0.0325). Non-interested students reported a higher perceived impact of AI (median 8 vs 6; p=0.0146), whereas interested students reported greater perceived career sustainability (median 7 vs 5; p=0.0022). Among career values, only patient contact differed, rated lower by interested students (median 6 vs 8, p=0.023). Only 44% of students reported adequate radiology exposure; qualitative responses favored experiential learning, while current exposure was predominantly didactic. Interested students more often participated in shadowing (37.5% vs 12.5%; p=0.0282). CONCLUSIONS: Interested students reported greater perceived importance of assessed procedural roles and greater confidence in radiology's sustainability despite AI, with minimal career-value differences. Procedural-scope and AI perceptions may be associated with radiology interest, suggesting that experiential education addressing these domains may support student engagement with radiology.