How Is AI Used in Nursing?
Written by:
Wilson College
• Sep 18, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping and revolutionizing countless fields: education, marketing, manufacturing, cybersecurity, media, energy, and finance, just to name a few. The healthcare industry is no exception. Grand View Research projects that the global market for AI in healthcare will expand from about $26.5 billion in 2024 to about $188 billion by 2030.
Despite AI’s numerous applications in healthcare, including diagnosis, clinical decision-making, patient monitoring, health records management, and robot-assisted surgery the public is skeptical of its influence. About 60% of the public said they would feel uncomfortable with their provider using AI to assist in diagnosing an ailment recommending treatments, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center.
As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce—and the most trusted, according to Gallup—nurses will play a critical role in integrating AI into patient care while maintaining a human-centered, ethically grounded approach. Understanding the various uses of AI in nursing practice, as well as the pros and cons, is essential for everyone from new nurses to graduate nursing students and beyond.
4 Examples of AI in Nursing
A 2024 Microsoft report revealed that AI adoption in healthcare is widespread, with nearly 80% of healthcare organizations already implementing AI in their operations. Nurses leverage AI in a wide range of capacities, from streamlining routine administrative duties to supporting complex diagnoses and clinical decisions. Below are common examples of how today’s nurses are using AI.
1. Diagnosis
AI is increasingly used as a diagnostic tool. Its ability to analyze and interpret vast amounts of data, such as radiographic images and patient medical histories, can facilitate disease diagnosis, and, in some cases, catching warning signs before human clinicians can. AI has aided in early detection of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. It can also improve prognostic accuracy by projecting potential complications, allowing nurses and other healthcare professionals to develop preemptive treatments.
2. Clinical Decision-Making
AI supports clinical decision-making beyond diagnosis and prognosis. By rapidly analyzing massive amounts of patient data, such as vital signs and lab results, it can identify patterns and provide evidence-based recommendations. This speed and precision are especially beneficial in emergencies, when nurses must make critical decisions quickly.
3. Patient Monitoring
Wearable devices powered by AI, such as blood pressure monitors and electrocardiogram (EKG) monitors, provide nurses with continuous, real-time insights into patients’ health conditions, alerting them to subtle changes and enabling timely interventions. This capability is highly valuable, particularly in critical care settings such as intensive care units (ICUs), where rapid detection of patient deterioration is vital.
4. Administrative Functions
AI’s utility in nursing practice goes beyond patient care, offering innovative solutions that streamline numerous operational processes. AI systems can transcribe nurse-patient interactions, draft clinical notes, and automatically populate and organize electronic health records, dramatically reducing the amount of time nurses spend on paperwork. It can also manage scheduling and resource allocation, freeing up nurses to spend more time with patients.
Pros and Cons of Using AI in Nursing
AI can enhance nursing practice by facilitating early diagnoses, supporting more informed decision-making, and improving other aspects of healthcare operations. However, using this type of technology also has potential downsides. To harness AI effectively, nursing professionals should have a firm grasp on both its strengths and its limitations.
For nurses, some notable advantages of using AI include the following:
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Task Automation: AI can handle a host of clerical responsibilities, including notetaking and records management, easing the administrative burden on nurses. It can also assist charge nurses with staffing by analyzing data on personnel availability and historical workload patterns to generate optimized schedules that meet the needs of both providers and patients.
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Error Reduction: AI-enabled systems have been shown to reduce medical errors—one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.—including misdiagnoses, false alarms, and medication mishaps.
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Patient Outcome Improvement: Early evidence indicates that AI can meaningfully improve patient outcomes. According to a 2025 study in Frontiers in Medicine, AI-based early warning systems helped reduce in-hospital mortality and shorten lengths of stay.
However, while AI can power many improvements to nursing care, the technology also presents challenges that nurses should consider before integrating it into their practice.
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Depersonalized Patient Care: If nurses become over reliant on AI, it can undermine patients’ sense of a caring relationship with their providers. Nearly 60% of patients fear that AI use could erode the patient-provider bond, according to Pew’s survey. Therefore, it’s critical that nurses use AI to supplement—not replace—their clinical judgment and compassionate presence.
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Data Security Risk: Healthcare organizations are frequent targets of cybercriminals due to the sensitive data they collect, such as patient medical histories, personal identifiers, and insurance information. The use of AI in nursing practice requires the collection, storage, and analysis of huge datasets. If hackers successfully breach an AI system, it could not only compromise patient privacy but also lead to inaccurate clinical decisions.
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Reinforced Biases: AI algorithms are only as good as the data they’re trained on. If that data contains historical biases, including those based on race or ethnicity, AI outputs could amplify these prejudices, providing unfair or discriminatory recommendations that exacerbate health disparities.
Tips for Integrating AI Into Nursing Practice
To properly leverage AI, nurses need to develop certain competencies, from technical literacy to ethical discernment. Below are some key strategies to help ensure that AI enhances nursing practice without compromising professional standards.
Understand AI Basics
Nurses don’t need to be AI experts, but a fundamental grasp of the technology is crucial. Gaps in understanding can lead to misuse of AI tools and potential misinterpretation of AI outputs that could potentially contribute to adverse patient outcomes and loss of patient trust. Incorporating AI education into nursing curricula and training is vital to ensure that nurses are able to use these tools safely and effectively.
Implement AI Strategically
Nurse leaders need to carefully evaluate and select AI tools that truly align with existing workflows and improve care. Collaborating with other professionals, such as informaticists, educators, IT teams, and clinical staff, can help identify AI solutions that add the most value. By deploying AI in areas where it can minimize errors and save time, nurses enhance patient safety and the overall quality of care.
Weigh Ethical Considerations
As AI becomes more widespread in nursing practice, nurses need to consider the ethical implications of its use. Issues such as biased algorithms, lack of transparency, and data privacy concerns can affect patient care and trust. Nurses need to understand these risks and use their judgment to ensure that AI supports ethical, patient-centered care. This awareness allows nurses to advocate for fairness, accountability, and responsible technology use.
Enter the Future of Nursing
AI is transforming the field of nursing—and healthcare more broadly—streamlining operations and improving patient outcomes with more informed decision-making. As AI’s role in healthcare grows, nurses need to learn how to thoughtfully integrate it, balancing innovation with ethics, safety, and the human touch that defines quality care.
If you’re eager to learn how AI and other technologies are revolutionizing nursing practice, the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) at Wilson College Online can prepare you to lead the way. The fully online program is designed for working nurses and offers two tracks—Education, and Leadership and Management—so you can align your degree with your professional goals.
Learn how Wilson College Online can help you advance your nursing career.
Recommended Readings
How Long Does It Take to Become a Nurse Practitioner?
Can Nurses Increase Their Salary With an MSN?
Why Earn an Advanced Degree in Nursing?
Sources:
American Nurses Association, The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Practice
Ferrum Health, How AI Is Solving Medical Errors
Gallup, “Ethics Ratings of Nearly All Professions Down in U.S.”
Grand View Research, AI In Healthcare Market Size, Share, and Trends Analysis Report
