Building Confidence Before Conversion — The Missing Link in AI Adoption

At our CMA-AI training center of Central Texas, we perceived the same pattern repeating: AI innovations promising to revolutionize healthcare — yet barely making it past the clinic door.

Why? It’s not a failure of technology. It’s a gap in trust and confidence.

AI in healthcare is not plug-and-play. You can’t expect clinicians to embrace a tool they haven’t practiced with or fully understood. Just like nobody learns to ride a bike by reading the manual, clinicians don’t learn to trust AI through flashy booth demos or one-time seminars.

They need space to try. To ask. To make mistakes — safely.

Here’s what AI developers often miss (and what we emphasize in our training environment):

• Practice Comes First

Exposure without expectation. We simulate real clinical scenarios where providers can explore the system without fear of making a mistake. That’s where trust starts.

• Talk About What Could Go Wrong

Being upfront about risks doesn’t scare people away — it brings them closer. Clinicians want to know how AI behaves when cases are unclear or outside the algorithm’s comfort zone.

• Human Support, Not Just Tech Support

Learning is human. So is hesitation. Our team walks side by side with clinicians as they experiment, ensuring there’s someone to explain, encourage, and adapt when needed.

• AI Is a Colleague, Not a Competitor

We remind clinicians: this isn’t about replacement. It’s about reinforcement. The goal is not to remove their judgment — it’s to sharpen it.

When clinicians feel ownership over how and when they use AI, that’s when adoption becomes sustainable. Not out of obligation, but out of confidence.

At CMA-AI the training center of central Texas, we’re not just training users. We’re helping build the trust that fuels transformation.

By Saran Lotfollahzadeh, MD, MSCR Candidate

MD, General Surgeon, Pediatric Surgery Sub-Specialist

MSCR Candidate

AHA Cardio-Oncology SFRN Fellow

Medical Director, CMA-AI Training Center of Central Texas

Instructor in Medicine