Nurses Need to Learn About AI. Here's How.

FSU's new AI education program can be a role model for AI education across the country, according to this nurse educator.

AI is no longer just the future of healthcare, it's the reality, and it's here now.

As the workforce progresses alongside this new digital companion, it's critical that nurses understand AI's different applications and how to use the technology efficiently and effectively. For CNOs, this means somehow finding a way to have their entire workforce be informed about AI.

This level of change taking place in the industry requires a systemic shift in how nurses are educated, beginning at the academic level. The Florida State University College of Nursing has launched a Master of Science in Nursing degree with a focus on AI applications in healthcare, which according to Dr. Jing Wang, dean and professor at FSU College of Nursing, which is essential as AI enters the industry.

"AI is moving fast and furious in our daily lives in everything we do, and also in almost everything we touch in healthcare," Wang said. "We need to be on top of what healthcare is right now and how we are going to train our future nurses to make sure that they have the essential knowledge and skills that they need to practice care, whether they're in hospital settings, in companies, or in community settings."

Setting expectations

According to Wang, there are many perspectives on AI and questions about if it will remove the humanity from patient care. Right now, nurses spend so much time on computers completing documentation requirements, when they could be spending that time with patients. To Wang, AI will be the tool that brings back human touch to nursing practice by allowing nurses to spend more time at the bedside and less time in the EMR.

Many are also concerned that the AI tools being taught in school will be vastly different by the time nurses graduate and transition to practice. To Wang, the value in AI education lies in teaching it from the angle of patient care, so that even if tools evolve, nurses still know how to use AI, regardless of the specific tool or brand.

"The tool may evolve and change," Wang said. "It doesn't mean that we should push all this AI training and education to our healthcare systems just because it will be a different brand or tool."

Diving into the details

The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree blends the traditional MSN degree with a concentration in AI, Wang explains, and it is designed to prepare nurses at a more advanced level.

"We want to prepare nurses and future nurse leaders to be the future leaders in this technology-driven and AI-driven future, rather than simply following whatever is coming," Wang said.

The program includes core curriculum on AI and practicum training that helps nurses learn how to apply foundational AI knowledge in real-world healthcare settings.

"They will have practicum hours after they learn about the core AI principles, core responsible AI principals, and the ethical use, the foundational use, and the legal implications of AI in healthcare," Wang said.

The nurses will learn exactly how to plan for all stages of AI implementation, from designing, to planning, to implementation, and to monitoring. They'll also learn how to identify areas where the AI tools can best be used to support nursing workflows, Wang explained.

"We don't want to just be this hype AI or hype technology, whatever is out there, let's find a solution in healthcare for it," Wang said. "It's actually the other way around, we're trying to prepare our students…to find what are areas where AI can play a significant role and be the problem solver versus the other way around."

According to Wang, FSU has plans to embed AI education into its BSN program as well. The organization already has incorporated AI tools to support faculty and student learning.

"We have a dedicated course on innovation and leadership, and we are assigning the faculty who teach our MSN in the AI program to teach the leadership and innovation course in the BSN," Wang said.

Fostering partnerships

AI education doesn't stop once nurses graduate. For CNOs who want to incorporate AI education during the transition to practice period, Wang recommends partnering with nursing schools.

"We're preparing for how we can successfully transition them to practice and how we can partner with the health systems [and] with the tools that we currently use in our training program to be aligned with what they will see in healthcare systems," Wang said.

According to Wang, FSU is also partnering with leading AI companies in the industry so students can test out some of the tools when they are in the MSN program. FSU founded the Nursing and Artificial Intelligence Innovation Consortium that builds partnerships between nursing schools, health systems, and AI industry partners, as well as the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), the American Nurses Association (ANA), and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL).

"With AI evolving so much, that partnership between not only the academic and the CNO level, but also the AI industry is so critical," Wang said, "so that we make sure that our graduates as they transition to practice, they understand some of the current, but also the emerging tools based on the AI technology advancement that is out there."

CNOs must understand what the needs and demands are and how CNOs and educators can learn from each other to move AI education forward, Wang explained.

"We're willing to share all the learning that we have from starting the MSN program right now," Wang said. "We're trying to move into the other [BSN] program, and we want all the other schools to learn about it so that they can start their own, so that it's not going to be only a few programs in the U.S. that can offer this program."

Wang emphasized that the goal of the consortium is to break the silos between academia, care delivery, the AI industry, regulatory bodies, and professional organizations.

"We all [need to] get together on the same page to see what needs to be done and [find out] how we can leverage each other's strength to arrive at this common goal and shared goal that we have," Wang said.