The latest Pulse the Podcast episode features multi award winning infectious disease specialist and digital health leader Associate Professor Kudzai Kanhutu, who says the rise of artificial intelligence is forcing a fundamental rethink of power, identity and learning in healthcare.
In the episode, “Nurture Your Mental Fitness: AI, Coaching Culture, and the Clinician of the Future”, A/Prof Kanhutu tells co-hosts Dr Louise Schaper and Dr George Margelis that AI was part of a broader shift in how authority is shared between clinicians, patients and systems.
“It’s really a conversation about shifting of power,” she said, noting traditional models where doctors hold all knowledge are already being challenged.
She said the shift was particularly confronting for early-career clinicians, who can no longer rely on being “the person who knows the most in the room,” and instead needed to learn to navigate shared decision-making and uncertainty.
A/Prof Kanhutu said successful AI adoption depended less on the technology itself and more on trust, governance and workplace culture – with clinicians needing confidence that decisions made with AI can be justified in regulated environments.
She also pointed to the growing role of AI in reducing cognitive load, highlighting tools such as clinical scribes that free up time for patient care and learning.
However, A/Prof Kanhutu also warned that current systems remained largely generic and compliance-driven, contributing to alert fatigue and limiting their usefulness at an individual level.
Looking ahead, she said healthcare should move beyond a narrow focus on compliance and instead embrace creativity and continuous improvement.
