What Nurses Want From AI

Nurses aren't afraid of AI. They're afraid of what hospital administrators will do with the time AI saves them.

Every AI company selling into hospitals makes the same promise:  give nurses more time with patients. But nurses seem to have a different prediction of where all that time is going.

According to the American Nurses Association 76% of nurses believe AI could be helpful in healthcare.

But when you ask what happens to the hours AI saves them the answer is usually the same, more  patients, not more time.

Most nurses aren't even sure which AI tools are already running in their workplace. Sixty percent  say they haven't received adequate training on the technology their employer has deployed.

Nurses want this to work. They just don't quite trust who's driving it.

AI Is Actually Saving Nurses Time

For nurses, AI documentation tools have cut the time involved in one of the most laborious daily tasks, charting.  These voiced enabled systems similar to scribing technology. It lets the nurse dictate observations right at the bedside and the technology converts it into structured clinical notes.  Notes are then prepared for Electronic Health Records.

Without all the typing, AI-assisted documentation could save nurses anywhere from 7 to 30 minutes per day.

AI is also  becoming an early warning system for one of healthcare’s most dangerous emergencies: sepsis.

It’s being used to spot the warning signs of sepsis sooner by continuously analyzing vital signs, lab results, medications, and other data.

This technology is helping clinicians recognize potential sepsis sooner while leaving diagnosis and treatment to the physician/clinical team.

But Where Does the Saved Time Actually Go?

The time savings associated with AI charting comes with a trade off, and its not more time spent with patients individually.   Some hospitals are spreading nurses time thinner by increasing the number of patients serviced.

National Nurses United President Mary Turner RN said it plainly. "Big corporate healthcare is forever pushing us to do more with less, and when I say more with less I mean more patients with less staff.

Enhanced Efficiency-The New Expectation

Once those savings become quantifiable, they can also become part of the hospital's productivity expectations.

For example,  a task that took 30 minutes pre AI, now takes 10, and the extra 20 minutes just become part of the normal workload.  It might take some of the paperwork away, but that could leave nurses spending more of their day on the more difficult parts of the job.

Could AI Change Nurse Staffing?

An important question to address is whether AI efficiency could eventually influence how hospitals determine their nursing needs.

Nursing is one of the largest labor expenses for hospitals, with RN's representing a significant share staffing expenditure.

As AI begins to produce measurable efficiency gains, hospital finance and operations teams will inevitably pay attention to what those savings mean for labor costs..  The pressure to convert AI efficiency into a leaner nursing workforce could be a reality.

What Happens at the Bedside?

.Patient care could be negatively effected as a consequence of increase in AI adoption,

While it can be very beneficial,  it can't calm a frightened patient, orient a confused one, or answer a family's questions at 2am.  Nursing attracts compassionate and empathetic people that technology  cannot  replace.  Time intensive  human connection is a huge part of the profession.

Nurses Aren't Against AI. They Need to Be Part of the Decision

Many nurses report feeling inadequately prepared for new technology or excluded from decisions surrounding its implementation.

A 2024 American Nurses Foundation/McKinsey survey of 7,200 nurses: 73% said having more input into AI tool design and optimization was needed to bring nurses into the conversation.  Interestingly, 64% also said they wanted more AI tools incorporated into their work.

The nurse using the tool every shift usually isn't in the room when the hospital decides to buy the technology. When hospitals evaluate AI tools patient safety should be the primary consideration,  not efficiency gains/ cost savings.

A New Kind Of Nurse

AI is not going away anytime soon.  Nurses juggle multiple responsibilities, and staying up to date on the most current technology is becoming part of the job description.

What may emerge is a new kind of nurse, one who is both clinically skilled and  fluent in new technology.

Not an expert, but someone who really understands the tools running on their floor.

The nurses who thrive in this environment will be the ones who understand AI well enough to hold it accountable  Nurses aren't questioning whether AI works, questioning who ultimately benefits.