Artificial Intelligence considerations in nursing curricula: Embracing with care, its potential in transforming learning
William Evans , Nick Baker , Tom Farrelly
Journal of Nursing Education and Practice ›› 2025, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (7) : 37 -52.
Artificial Intelligence considerations in nursing curricula: Embracing with care, its potential in transforming learning
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has very quickly become a part of our daily lives, and nursing is no exception. Different types of AI are already becoming standard tools in nursing practice as healthcare comes to rely more on these powerful technologies to augment human capabilities. Nursing regulators and educators are realising that nurses will need new skills and competencies to use these tools safely, ethically, and responsibly in their practice. This paper explores important considerations that nursing educators must reflect on in the usage of AI and in particular, the unique conditions that they are expected to operate within. The paper will firstly introduce the current and emerging policy context of how AI is being constructed within healthcare and in particular what is emanating from a nursing education context. Secondly, the paper presents some overarching considerations that have emerged for nursing education following the rapid embedding of AI within nursing and wider healthcare delivery. Finally, we introduce a promising curricular framework, ‘Constraints Led Approach’ (CLA), the theoretical and applied foundations of which are in sport and skill acquisition, but which shows potential for structuring the inclusion of AI in nurse education.
Artificial intelligence / Constraints led approach / Curriculum / Nursing education
| [1] |
Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. Embracing ChatGPT in Nursing Education and Practice. 2024. |
| [2] |
The World Health Organisation (WHO). Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Health. AI & Digital: Harnessing Artifi- cial Intelligence for Health 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/teams/digital-health-and-innovation/harnessing-artificial-intelligence-for-health (accessed April 30, 2025). |
| [3] |
|
| [4] |
|
| [5] |
|
| [6] |
|
| [7] |
|
| [8] |
|
| [9] |
|
| [10] |
|
| [11] |
Asilomar AI Principles.Future of Life Institute 2017. Available from: https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/ai-principles/ (accessed April 30, 2025) |
| [12] |
|
| [13] |
High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence. Independent High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence: Ethics Guide-lines for Trustworthy AI. Brussels: The European Commission; 2019. |
| [14] |
The Australian College of Nursing. Artificial Intelligence. Australian College of Nursing 2024. Available from: https://www.acn.edu.au/advocacy-policy/position-statement-artificial-intelligence (accessed April 30, 2025) |
| [15] |
National Academy of Medicine. An Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct for Health and Medicine: Essential Guidance for Aligned Action. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; n.d. |
| [16] |
The American Nurses Association Centre for Ethics and Human Rights. The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Practice. The American Nurses Association; 2022. |
| [17] |
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. Digital Health Compe- tency Standards and Requirements for Undergraduate Nursing and Midwifery Education Programmes (First Edition) 2023. |
| [18] |
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.NMBI - Code of Profes- sional Conduct and Ethics 2025. |
| [19] |
The Royal College of Nursing. Using Artificial Intelli- gence (AI) for Career Development. The Royal College of Nursing | RCN Career Resources 2024. Available from: https://www.rcn.org.uk/Professional-Development/Your-career/Artificial-intelligence (accessed June 11, 2025) |
| [20] |
|
| [21] |
|
| [22] |
|
| [23] |
|
| [24] |
|
| [25] |
|
| [26] |
|
| [27] |
|
| [28] |
|
| [29] |
|
| [30] |
|
| [31] |
|
| [32] |
|
| [33] |
|
| [34] |
|
| [35] |
|
| [36] |
|
| [37] |
|
| [38] |
World Health Organization. Ethics and Governance of Artificial In- telligence for Health: WHO Guidance. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. |
| [39] |
|
| [40] |
|
| [41] |
|
| [42] |
|
| [43] |
|
| [44] |
|
| [45] |
|
| [46] |
|
| [47] |
|
| [48] |
|
| [49] |
|
| [50] |
|
| [51] |
|
| [52] |
|
| [53] |
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). Gen AI strategies for Australian higher education: Emerging practice. Canberra: TEQSA, Australian Government; 2024. |
| [54] |
|
| [55] |
|
| [56] |
|
| [57] |
|
| [58] |
|
| [59] |
|
| [60] |
|
| [61] |
|
| [62] |
|
| [63] |
Digital Education Council. DEC AI Literacy Framework. The Digital Education Council; 2025. |
| [64] |
|
| [65] |
|
| [66] |
|
| [67] |
|
| [68] |
|
| [69] |
|
| [70] |
|
| [71] |
|
| [72] |
|
| [73] |
|
| [74] |
|
| [75] |
|
| [76] |
|
| [77] |
|
| [78] |
|
| [79] |
|
| [80] |
|
| [81] |
|
| [82] |
|
| [83] |
|
| [84] |
|
| [85] |
|
| [86] |
PerkinsD. |
| [87] |
|
| [88] |
KistlerKB, TyndallDE. ApplicationoftheThresholdConceptFrame-work in Nursing: An Integrative Review. Nurse Educ. 2022; 47: 91-5. PMid:34033613 https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001041 |
| [89] |
|
| [90] |
|
| [91] |
|
| [92] |
|
| [93] |
|
| [94] |
|
| [95] |
|
| [96] |
|
| [97] |
|
| [98] |
|
| [99] |
|
| [100] |
|
| [101] |
|
| [102] |
|
| [103] |
|
| [104] |
|
| [105] |
|
| [106] |
|
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |