PROMPT ENGINEERING 101
PROMPT ENGINEERING 101
With the rise of generative AI in healthcare, we now have powerful tools at our fingertips to enhance efficiency, streamline documentation, and even support clinical reasoning. But to get the most out of these AI tools, we need to master a crucial skill: prompt engineering. Prompt engineering isn’t just for tech experts —it’s a practical, easy-to-learn method that healthcare professionals can use to optimize AI tools for their unique needs. Whether you're crafting patient education materials, summarizing research articles, or generating clinical notes, the way you communicate with AI can make all the difference.
What Is Prompt Engineering?
Prompt engineering is the art and science of designing clear, specific instructions to guide AI models like ChatGPT to produce accurate, relevant, and useful outputs. Think of it like ordering at a restaurant—if you give a vague request like, “I’ll have something good,” you might get something you don’t want. But if you say, “I’d like a grilled chicken salad with no onions and light dressing,” you’ll get exactly what you need.
AI continues to evolve in healthcare, prompt engineering will be an essential tool in your professional toolkit. The more precise you are with your instructions, the more powerful—and reliable—the AI becomes in supporting your day-to-day tasks.
How to Craft Effective Prompts: A Step-by-Step Guide
Define the Role and Context of the AI:
Setting the role gives the AI a specific perspective, tone, and focus. This helps tailor the response to the intended context.
Example: “You are a medical scribe assisting in drafting a SOAP note for a pediatric emergency visit.”
By specifying that the AI is a medical scribe, you ensure that the language remains professional, concise, and aligned with documentation standards. This role also helps the AI avoid adding unnecessary medical opinions or recommendations that would be inappropriate for a scribe.Be Specific with Your Request:
Vague prompts lead to broad or irrelevant outputs. Specificity ensures the AI focuses on exactly what you need, saving time and reducing the need for revisions. Include details about the task, what information should be highlighted, and what should be excluded. Mention the format, tone, or any key focus areas.
Example: “Summarize this patient encounter in under 150 words, focusing on key symptoms, physical exam findings, and discharge instructions.”
Here, you're guiding the AI to produce a concise summary, emphasizing the most critical components of the patient encounter. By setting a word limit, you prevent overly detailed responses and ensure the summary remains practical for clinical documentation.Break Tasks into Steps (Chain of Thought):
Complex tasks can overwhelm the AI, leading to disorganized or incomplete responses. Structure the prompt into distinct, manageable tasks, and guide the AI through each step.
Example:
Step 1: “List possible differential diagnoses for a 4-year-old with fever and rash.”
Step 2: “Explain the most likely diagnosis in layman's terms.”
By separating the diagnostic process into two steps, you first get a broad range of possibilities (differential diagnoses) and then a simplified explanation for patient or parent communication. This structured approach ensures clarity and focus at each stage.Set Constraints and Preferred Output
Constraints help fine-tune the output to match your specific needs. Specify formatting preferences (e.g., bullet points, word limits) and content restrictions (e.g., use non-technical language, avoid certain topics).
Example: “Write patient instructions in bullet points, using simple language suitable for a 6th-grade reading level.”
This prompt ensures the output is both easy to read and well-organized. Bullet points improve readability, while specifying the reading level ensures the information is accessible to a general audience—crucial when creating patient-facing materials.Use Examples to Guide the AI (Few Shot Prompting):
AI models learn from patterns. Providing examples or templates ensures consistency and helps the AI mirror the style and structure you want.
Example: “Format this note like the example below, ensuring the assessment and plan are clearly separated.
Assessment: 6-month-old with bronchiolitis.
Plan: Supportive care with nasal suctioning and hydration”
By providing a template, you're giving the AI a clear structure to follow, which increases the likelihood of consistent and accurate documentation across different cases.
Examples of Real-World Applications in Healthcare
Clinical Documentation:
Prompt: “You are a pediatric emergency physician documenting a case of bronchiolitis in a 6-month-old. Include the chief complaint, pertinent positives/negatives, physical exam findings, and discharge plan.”
Patient Education Materials:
Prompt: “Write discharge instructions for a parent of a child with otitis media. Use simple, non-technical language and include when to seek urgent care.”
Qualitative Research Coding:
Prompt: “You are a research assistant coding interview transcripts for a study on nurse burnout. Identify emerging themes related to work-life balance, support systems, and emotional exhaustion.”
Triage Support Documentation:
Prompt: “You are an ED triage nurse, suggest initial triage category based on severity, and recommend any nurse-initiated interventions (e.g., oral rehydration, antiemetics if protocol allows).”
Summarizing Research Articles:
Prompt: “Summarize the following research article in 150 words, highlighting the objective, methodology, key findings, and clinical implications for emergency medicine.”
Clinical Decision Support:
Prompt: “List potential causes of abdominal pain in a 10-year-old presenting to the ED. Highlight red flags that warrant immediate imaging.”