ChatGPT by the bedside? University of Minnesota group to explore AI in nursing
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A new working group created at the University of Minnesota is tackling the transformative potential — and potentially thorny implications — of the use of artificial intelligence in nursing.
What's happening: The initiative, announced during the U's recent Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science conference, will bring together national and international experts in both health care and artificial intelligence to come up with recommendations for ethical applications of the technology in the field.
Why it matters: Generative AI, which is already upending life and work everywhere from the classroom to the campaign trail, is set to dramatically reshape health care.
- New AI-based tools and programs are already being used to cut down on paperwork, predict staffing needs, and detect conditions like heart problems and sepsis risks early.
Yes, but: Some nurses and experts have concerns, including about what should happen when the provider disagrees with the algorithm's diagnosis, as the Wall Street Journal reported.
- Nearly a quarter of respondents to a survey from the National Nurses United union said such tools directed them to make choices that “were not in the best interest of patients based on their clinical judgment and scope of practice," per the WSJ.
What they're saying: Leaders at the U's School of Nursing say developing best practices for patient care and warnings about pitfalls now will help providers and educators use the tools effectively and ethically as they evolve and become more ubiquitous.
- "This has a significant potential to support nursing work, making care of delivery safer and more efficient," Jenna Marquard, a U nursing professor who was named co-chair of the working group, told Axios. "But things are exploding in a way that it might actually do the opposite."
Between the lines: The national nursing shortage has intensified the need to act now, dean Connie White Delaney told Axios.
- While AI tools can help lower workload related to documentation and other administrative aspects of the job, she worries that the workforce crisis could lead to the adoption of such strategies "without appropriate discernment."
- "There are prolific discussions about how [we can] not use as many nurses," she said. "AI is one of those potential solutions."
Plus: Asking nurses to learn "an entirely new framework of how to think about their work … is work in itself," and can be especially challenging in environments where staff are already stretched thin, Marquard noted.
Zoom out: Delaney told Axios that while some professional organizations are examining these issues, she's unaware of a similar effort launched by an American higher education institution "that crosses this breadth of engagement."
What's next: Members will meet over the coming months to discuss strategies to more broadly share with industry leaders and nursing schools.
- The goal is to publish recommendations by early next year.