Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Practice: Decisional Support, Clinical Integration, and Future Directions

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare has the potential to transform nursing practice. Nurses can utilize the capabilities of AI to incorporate evidence-based practices and enhance patient outcomes. For example, one main application of AI in nursing is clinical decision support (CDS) systems, which assist nurses to interpret complex patient data, identify potential complications, and personalize care. AI tools are also evolving at the systems level. AI tools can optimize nursing workflows by automating routine tasks, managing patient appointments, and streamlining documentation. Despite these benefits, integrating AI applications into nursing practice also presents challenges related to data privacy, ethical considerations, and appropriate training. This article explores how AI supports clinical decision-making, presents real-world examples of its application in nursing settings, examines changes to the nursing scope of practice, discusses ethical implications, and envisions the future role of AI in healthcare delivery and education. Included within is a discussion about the need to redefine the scope of nursing practice in response to these emerging technologies, and a call to action to prepare nurses and nursing practice for AI integration.