The use of AI in nursing is expanding. It can ease the administrative burden of nursing staff, enabling them to focus more on their patients. Artificial intelligence tools can also monitor patients in real time, alerting nurses to clinical deterioration. Ultimately, AI may help improve efficiency and patient outcomes.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming many industries, including healthcare. AI in nursing aims to improve patient care and outcomes and streamline operations for healthcare professionals. Practicing nurses and students should consider how artificial intelligence in nursing may affect the way they provide patient care.
At Northeastern University, we’re preparing a high-tech nursing workforce. Our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program introduces students to high-tech medical equipment and instills key soft skills, such as adaptability and a commitment to lifelong learning.
If you’re considering switching careers, explore how Northeastern’s ABSN program showcases the partnership of nursing and AI. Examine predictive analytics and how AI may influence patient charting, monitoring, and workload management.
The Rise of AI in Modern Nursing
Artificial intelligence involves teaching computers to learn from large datasets and simulate reasoning, inference, and decision-making based on that data.
Because nursing generates vast amounts of data, AI is well-suited to process patient and organizational data to support decisions made by nurses and administrators. AI aims to augment, not replace, human nurses.
How Is AI Used in Nursing?
Artificial intelligence in nursing serves many purposes, with main goals including:
- Boosting staff productivity by automating certain tasks
- Enhancing patient monitoring for faster detection of problems
- Freeing up time for more important nursing tasks
- Supporting better clinical decision-making
Ultimately, AI can enhance care delivery and improve patient outcomes.
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AI in Nursing and Predictive Analytics: Identifying Risks Earlier
In AI, predictive analytics shifts from processing raw data to forecasting outcomes, providing actionable insights that help healthcare professionals anticipate what’s likely to happen. AI in nursing shifts care from reactive to proactive.
Predictive analytics can enable continuous early warning scores (EWS). AI processes clinical data, such as vital signs and lab results, to forecast problems like falls or sepsis and alert nurses to take preventive actions that protect patient safety. Early intervention may also reduce hospital readmission rates.
Artificial Intelligence in Nursing and Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
Some healthcare facilities integrate AI into electronic health records, enhancing patient monitoring and streamlining documentation by automating repetitive tasks. For example, AI can draft records for patient interactions, which nurses review and modify before adding to the chart.
Machine learning tools in EHRs can analyze clinical data to detect red flags earlier, such as a high risk of sepsis. Nurses can then review the clinical documentation and adjust the patient’s care plan.
Nursing and AI in Patient Monitoring and Early Detection
Beyond EHRs, AI in nursing optimizes patient monitoring and detects deterioration early. Patients can wear AI-enabled sensors to track respiration, heart rate, and other vital signs. Smart beds can alert nurses instantly when high-risk patients get out of bed.
AI Tools That Help Nurses Manage Workload and Staffing
AI tools help manage administrative workload by tracking real-time patient volumes and scheduling additional nurses when needed. Seasonal trends and historical patterns inform staffing and improve forecasting.
When patient-to-provider ratios are unfavorable, nurse burnout is more likely. AI can mitigate this by tracking staffing ratios and helping charge nurses distribute patient assignments more evenly.
Improved Patient Outcomes Through Human-AI Collaboration
AI isn’t meant to diminish the human touch in nursing. Instead, nursing and AI should be used together to help improve patient outcomes. AI tools support decision-making without replacing nurses and boost efficiency by streamlining administrative tasks, allowing nurses to focus more on patients.
AI support can also reduce readmissions, enabling patients to continue recovery at home. For example, a recent study on an AI-driven screening tool used to identify patients at risk for opioid use disorder found that the AI-screened patients had 47% lower odds of being readmitted within 30 days of discharge.
By using the screening tool, healthcare professionals were able to connect patients with addiction specialists and monitor patients for opioid withdrawal. While AI-screening tools are still in the early stages of development, there is much potential in the technology.
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What This Means for the Future of the Nursing Profession
As healthcare finds new applications for AI, its integration in nursing will likely grow. Nurses must still adhere to their professional code of ethics, using AI in ways that promote patients’ best interests, preserve autonomy and informed consent, and maintain privacy.
Nurses can review the American Nurses Association’s position statement “The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Practice” for practical guidelines and ethical considerations. As AI evolves, regulations and professional guidance will too, so nurses should stay informed about nursing and AI.
How an ABSN Program Prepares Nurses for AI-Enabled Healthcare
Northeastern’s ABSN program prepares nurse candidates for the future of nursing. With a focus on fundamentals and evidence-based practice, the curriculum teaches students to adapt to the rapidly changing field.
Students practice with the medical equipment they’ll use in clinical environments. During clinical rotations, they experience healthcare technology in action as they provide direct patient care under supervision.
At Northeastern, our ABSN students complete six clinical rotations, each comprising 72 practice hours. In specialties like women’s health, family care, and mental health, students gain real-world experience.
Prepare for Your High-Tech Nursing Career at Northeastern
As a top-ranked university, Northeastern offers comprehensive nursing education that prepares our students to tackle modern challenges in the increasingly high-tech nursing field. Our fully equipped nursing skills and simulation labs introduce students to the medical equipment and technologies they’ll use as RNs. Additionally, our small class sizes facilitate personalized attention from nursing instructors.
If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 62 college credits, you may be eligible for our ABSN program. Choose from one of three locations in the Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Charlotte, North Carolina, areas. With three start dates each year, you may be able to start sooner than you think.
Request info today and connect with an admissions counselor to begin the application process.