AI is transforming nursing practice but demands stronger ethics, training

Editor's Note

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping nursing informatics and clinical practice, improving patient monitoring, care planning, and workflow efficiency, yet both opportunities and risks are mounting. According to March 2025 reviews published in International Nursing Review and in Frontiers in Digital Health, AI integration promises significant gains in patient outcomes and nursing efficiency but raises pressing concerns around ethics, data privacy, and the need for AI literacy.

The International Nursing Review article highlights how AI is enhancing diagnostic accuracy, resource allocation, and overall decision-making in nursing. It stresses that nurses must be trained to use these tools effectively and safely, while policymakers should implement ethical guidelines to safeguard patient rights. Without structured literacy programs, the review warns, adoption risks exacerbating algorithmic bias and compromising care quality.

The Frontiers in Digital Health review synthesizes findings from 18 studies and demonstrates tangible clinical and operational benefits. AI-enabled monitoring technologies, such as wearable sensors and real-time alert systems, helped nurses identify subtle physiological changes earlier, leading to faster interventions, reduced complications, shorter hospital stays, and fewer readmissions. Operationally, AI applications in scheduling, documentation, and workload prediction reduced administrative burden and eased staffing pressures. Many reports linked these efficiencies to lower burnout rates and higher job satisfaction, as nurses were able to focus more on direct patient care.

Despite these advantages, ethical issues remain central. Both reviews emphasize risks such as data privacy breaches, bias in algorithms, and potential overreliance on AI that could erode clinical judgment. Each concludes that sustainable integration requires ethical frameworks, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ongoing evaluation to balance innovation with patient safety. Looking ahead, researchers call for long-term, multi-setting studies to validate the durability of AI’s benefits while ensuring equity in its deployment.