Nurses are still skeptical of AI in healthcare

The data: Nurses remain skeptical of the impact that AI will have in healthcare settings, according to Jarrard’s 2024 Nurse Survey Report. Some 837 US nurses were surveyed in September 2024.

Digging into the findings: Nurses’ top concern with AI is a lack of trust.

• For admin: 56% of nurses report either low levels of trust (31%) or no trust (25%).
• 59% trust AI a little (30%) or not at all (29%) for clinical decision support, such as helping physicians diagnose patients or read radiology films.

Nurses also have mixed opinions on whether AI is positive or negative in their roles.

• 46% think that AI is generally a positive thing and will help them be more effective in their jobs.
• 34% are uncertain how AI will generally affect nurses going forward.
• And 20% say it’s generally bad and will take nurse jobs away by handling some tasks nurses should be doing.

The bigger picture: Nurses are less trustful and less enthusiastic about AI than doctors.

• 65% of US physicians think AI gives them some level of advantage when caring for patients, per a November 2023 American Medical Association survey.
• Only 11% say that AI is a disadvantage.

Many nurses are particularly unhappy with the hospital industry rushing to implement technology that’s untested and unregulated. This was a key concern during a recent nurse protest of how AI was being used at Kaiser Permanente.

Nurses are also likely peeved that buzzy startup Hippocratic AI—backed by heavy-hitter investors such as NVIDIA’s venture capital arm—said its genAI bots outperform human nurses and are available for a fraction of the cost.

The final word: AI developers and health system customers must strike the right balance between identifying ways the tech can assist nurses while not undermining them. For example, Mayo Clinic and Abridge are directly involving nurses in the development and rollout of a genAI clinical documentation tool specifically designed for their roles.

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