As often happens with new developments in health IT, there’s been no shortage of hype related to the emergence of AI and the changes it can bring.  But as often also happens, much of the success of AI will depend on the nurses who care for patients from hour to hour and day to day.

Writing recently at DailyNurse, Catherine Burger, a board-certified executive nurse leader, points out that “(b)edside nurses are the key to AI as it relates to predictability models and telemedicine. Data points such as temperature, blood pressure, and physical assessment values, entered into the EHR in a timely manner, can literally make the difference between life and death as the health information technology is scanning thousands of factors to provide outcome information. Getting nurses onboard with real-time, accurate documentation (not just copying the assessment from the previous shift) is essential.”

One possible problem, however, is that nurses may be stuck in the mode of viewing AI as another step in the pecking order telling them what to do.

According to Dan Weberg, PhD, RN, “In order for nurses to stay relevant, we need to figure a way to incorporate new technology directly into practice. AI isn’t making decisions for us as nurses, it’s making us super nurses!”

As he sees things, there are ever-more smart apps being developed that directly impact nursing, but nurses are rarely involved in the design and testing process.  “When technology is designed and implemented without nursing input, workarounds are created, which can lead to the innovation not being used to its full capacity.”

Weberg points to nursing schools as the place that problem begins, saying, “There is a gap between the traditional, old-school methods of teaching students how to be nurses and actual innovation in practice. Academia needs to foster a healthy relationship between nursing and advancing technology if we want to remain relevant.”

That challenge aside, Burger says the bottom line for nurses is that “when artificial intelligence and modern technology are infused with the art of medicine, patients are safer.”  She cites the well-known Institute of Medicine study from 2000 which was among the early prominent calls for more technology in healthcare as a way to reduce dangerous mistakes.

“Since that report nearly 20 years ago,” Burger notes, “many studies have proven that there are less medication errors, less adverse drug reactions, and improved compliance to evidence-based practice guidelines with the integration of health information technology.”

She says the key for nurses, then, is to “strive to become “super users” in their departments as subject-matter experts in any technology or innovation that is being designed and implemented. Staying one step ahead and developing a mindset of improvement and innovation can be powerful. . . . The future of nursing is aglow with the megahertz light of innovation to improve the lives of nurses, patients, and the communities we serve.”