Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to evaluate and compare the answering capabilities and accuracy of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro for a set of 98 questions, including image-based questions, from the 2024 neurosurgery board certification examination.
Materials and methods: Answers to 98 questions, including image-based questions, were generated using GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro. We evaluated their performance through both one-shot and multiple-attempt methods, calculating accuracy and consistency rates. Comparisons were made between text-based and image-based questions to assess multimodal reasoning.
Results: GPT o1 pro achieved a one-shot accuracy of 92.9%, while GPT-4o reached 71.4% (p<0.001). Over three attempts, GPT o1 pro maintained 91.8% accuracy compared to GPT-4o’s 72.4% (p<0.001). GPT o1 pro also showed higher consistency (91.8% vs 78.6%, p=0.009). For text-only questions, GPT o1 pro reached 96.3% one-shot accuracy, compared to GPT-4o’s 72.8%. For image-based questions, GPT o1 pro scored 76.5%, and GPT-4o scored 64.7%, though this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.68). These results suggest that GPT o1 pro outperforms GPT-4o, especially for text-based items, but both models need further improvement for image-based tasks.
Conclusion: Both GPT o1 pro and GPT-4o successfully passed the 2024 Turkish Neurosurgical Society Board Certification Examination. GPT o1 pro showed notably higher accuracy and consistency than GPT-4o, suggesting a promising role for chain-of-thought reasoning in medical education.
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References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Brain and Nerve Surgery (Neurosurgery)
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
July 10, 2026
Submission Date
July 5, 2025
Acceptance Date
October 9, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 19 Number: 3
