Preparedness and Attitudes of Nursing Students toward the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Education

With technological progress, it is anticipated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become an integral part of nursing education for both faculty and students. AI has the potential to assist across various aspects of nursing practice, including disease diagnosis, personalized treatment plans, and clinical advice through virtual assistants, workflow enhancements, and staff efficiency improvements. The primary aim of this study is to assess nursing students’ preparedness and attitudes towards incorporating AI into their education. Additionally, the study seeks to explore perceived benefits, challenges, and training needs related to AI applications in nursing education.

A total of 122 undergraduate nursing students participated in this cross-sectional survey, with data collected through questionnaires completed directly in the classroom.

The results showed that students held partially optimistic views regarding AI’s potential to improve diagnostic and administrative efficiency (mean=3.75), but their sense of self-preparedness was relatively low (mean=3.36). Common concerns included the risk that AI might provide inaccurate or outdated information (n=32) and that AI could increase the likelihood of plagiarism, leading to unfair grading (n=27). Students with previous AI exposure, prior training, and those in their final year demonstrated notably more positive attitudes (p-value of group comparison > 0.05).

The findings reveal a significant gap in current nursing education and underline the urgent need to introduce comprehensive, competency-based AI training that alleviates fears and equips future nurses to work safely and effectively within this emerging field.

Nursing students demonstrated positive attitudes toward the use of AI in nursing education despite limited self-perceived preparedness. Integrating AI-focused training into nursing curricula is essential to enhance students’ competencies and address concerns related to accuracy, ethics, and academic integrity. Such efforts will better prepare future nurses for AI-supported healthcare environments.