TITLE:
Role Transformation and Development Paths of University Medical Functional Experiment Technicians in the AI Era
AUTHORS:
Yanhua Zhang, Xiaochun Peng
KEYWORDS:
AI Era, Medical Functional Experiment Technicians, Role Transformation, Development Path
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.4,
April
21,
2026
ABSTRACT: The in-depth penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is driving a systematic transformation of the medical education system in universities. This represents the core trend in the digital development of current medical education and has been widely confirmed by relevant studies both domestically and internationally. As a key link connecting basic medicine and clinical practice, the role reconstruction and upgrading of medical function laboratory technicians—the core practitioners of medical function experiments—have become a research hotspot in the digitalization of medical education in recent years. As a review article, this paper systematically sorts out the application practices of AI in medical function experiments in existing research, comprehensively analyzes the role positioning and generally recognized inherent limitations of traditional function laboratory technicians, integrates current research findings, and expounds on the transformation requirements for laboratory technicians in four dimensions: technical competence, teaching support, scientific research assistance, and management functions in the AI era. It further summarizes and refines a four-dimensional development path of “in-depth technical exploration-teaching innovation-scientific research empowerment-management upgrading”, which is corroborated with existing application cases. Studies show that only by completing the core transformation from “traditional operational performers” to “builders of intelligent experimental ecosystems” can university medical function laboratory technicians accurately adapt to the era of digital reform in medical education, provide high-quality support for medical talent training, and conform to the inevitable trend of the current reform of medical function experiment teaching.