Imagine a world where nurses receive an alert about a patient’s condition before it becomes life threatening. Thanks to AI, nurses now have powerful tools to serve patient needs and prevent or assist emergencies effectively. Wow, so futuristic right? While AI brings many benefits, some people might say AI could lead to loss of human connection toward healthcare and rising numbers of AI can also lead to job displacement.
AI is not only affecting healthcare, but also high school students who want to major in nursing by encountering more technology into their learning. “Since AI is being incorporated into healthcare, nursing schools will want students who are comfortable with technology,” says Vincent Lin, a junior in John Dewey High School.” It will be harder to get into medical school and unfair to students who are not good in technology.”
Others may consider how AI can also be an advantage for students in high school who want to major in nursing. AI entering into healthcare could open up a new career pathway for nursing students.”People who want to major in nursing could have opportunities to select different career paths like health informatic, data management, etc,” says Isaac Shek, an alumnus from John Dewey High School, who is currently majoring in the medical field at the College of Staten Island. “People who like technology like myself, want to incorporate AI into healthcare to make people’s lives easier.
Some people will also argue that increasing use of AI in nursing could lead to overly reliant on technology, potentially losing their ability to make decisions without AI technology. “ Nurses may rely on AI for diagnosing patients or predicting health outcomes, potentially reducing their critical thinking skill,” says Vincent Lin, a junior in John Dewey High School. “ High school students who are inspired to be nurses should highlight the importance of applying their training on hand-on experience in patient care.”
Just like humans, AI also makes mistakes and puts patient’s lives in danger. “AI systems are only as good as the data they are trained on, if the data is incomplete or outdated the AI could provide incorrect information,” says Eric Li, a John Dewey junior in pre-med academy. “AI could have a system error which leads to medication error and giving the wrong data set of a patient.”
AI is transforming nursing and healthcare in ways we couldn’t have imagined a decade ago. While it brings incredible opportunities, it also comes with challenges that need thoughtful solutions. Technology and nursing can create a healthcare system that is smarter and efficient. At the end of the day, no machine can replace human compassion and the connection that the nurse brings to their patient.
