Nursing CE Central
Nearly 60% of American adults think artificial intelligence will lead to better health outcomes for patients, a recent survey found. But some nurses still have reservations about its use and worry the technology is intended to replace their jobs.
Gwynedd Mercy University published the study, conducted by The Harris Poll, which included surveys with nearly 2,100 adults in November 2024.
Other findings included:
Some educational institutions and healthcare systems have already begun to implement AI into their processes.
Cook Children’s Health Care System in Texas has fully involved nurses in the process when it comes to AI. Charity Darnell, MSN, RN, vice president and chief clinical information officer of Cook Children’s, told Becker’s Hospital Review that nurses are open to the idea of AI “if they’re not fearful of it.” The pediatric hospital trains its staff at an “innovation center that mimics an inpatient unit,” according to the Becker’s report.
“It’s not going to take their job. It’s not going to take care of patients for them,” she said. “They cannot be replaced.”
However, some nurses argue the technology will, in fact, take the human element out of the equation. Michelle Mahon, of National Nurses United, said in an interview that hospitals have been “waiting for the moment” something comes along that can replace nurses.
“The entire ecosystem is designed to automate, de-skill and ultimately replace caregivers,” Mahon said.
Some research negates that viewpoint, though. A Columbia University study found that an AI tool, which uses data and information provided by nurses, could determine if a patient was “deteriorating nearly two days earlier than traditional methods and reduced the risk of death by over 35%.” The study’s lead author, Sarah Rossetti, said in an interview with Medical Xpress that combining nursing skills with AI “can produce real-time, actionable insights that save lives.”
Meanwhile, Cedars-Sinai’s Chief Data and AI Officer Mouneer Odeh told Healthcare IT News that “large language models” being applied in nursing to ease the documentation burden is helping lower instances of burnout.
“One thing that is somewhat surprising but makes sense when you think about it, is our patient experience scores are dramatically improving as a result of that, because our nurses aren’t spending as much time capturing the information on a keyboard and they’re spending more time in interaction face to face,” Odeh said. “And it’s being documented in a much more natural and intuitive way. And the feedback we hear from nurses is truly inspiring.”
Deanne H. D’Emilio, JD, President of GMercyU said the university’s survey results validated their approach to healthcare education,
“We recognize the impact of AI in the field and remain focused on preparing students to balance technological advancements with the empathy and ethical decision-making that define exceptional healthcare,” D’Emilio said.
Several nursing institutions already have begun implementing AI into their courses. Last September, Florida State University announced the addition of an AI master’s program. Its first cohort began in the spring 2025 semester.
Unbound Medicine, a healthcare knowledge management company, just unveiled its program Assist, which “combines AI with human expertise to transform the creation of educational and learning materials,” according to a news release.
“Assist effectively addresses key challenges in nursing education by saving faculty valuable time and increasing student-teacher engagement,” Scott Dolan, PhD, MSN, Dean of Health, Human and Public Services at Clark State College and study participant, stated in the release. “Its impact is expected to be profound, driving better educational outcomes and fostering student success.”
However, studies remind nurses, educators, and students to be mindful of cybersecurity concerns, the decrease of human interaction, the ethical and moral implications of AI, and potential biases.
“Biased or incomplete data used to train AI systems in nursing education may manifest in skewed information on specific health conditions or patient populations … To mitigate this, it is essential to ensure that the training data encompass a comprehensive representation of health care scenarios, including both urban and rural contexts,” the authors of a JMIR Nursing article suggested.
While surveys indicate that the public sees positives in implementing AI into nursing processes and the healthcare industry overall, there’s still a lot of hesitation. Industry leaders in the AI and nursing fields are taking steps to mitigate legal and ethical concerns while trying to enhance the ability for nurses to do their jobs more effectively.
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