TITLE:
AI in Nursing Education: Preparing Future Nurses for a Tech-Integrated Workforce
AUTHORS:
Cynthia Silvia, Karolina Kopczynski, Abbie Patavino
KEYWORDS:
Artificial Intelligence, Simulation-Based Learning, AI Literacy
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.17 No.8,
August
31,
2026
ABSTRACT: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly integrated into nursing education, reshaping how nurses learn on the wards in complex clinical environments. This article examines the potential of AI-augmented simulation to improve clinical skills, including clinical competency, decision-making, and readiness for high-risk clinical interactions. In contrast to typical simulation-based learning scenarios, AI delivers adaptive, real-time learning experiences that are scalable and realistic, and that promote clinical reasoning, rare-case exposure, and customized assessment. As the field integrates AI into healthcare (diagnosis, workflow management, and patient care support), nursing students will need to demonstrate skill in the responsible and ethical deployment of these technologies. This includes both the principles around how AI tools should work and their integration into clinical judgment and patient-centered care. To this end, we recommend that nursing education promote enhanced AI literacy so that future nurses are better prepared to understand what algorithmic outputs look like, acknowledge their limitations, and advocate for safe, equitable patient outcomes. Ultimately, AI-enhanced education must be one step toward a prepared and flexible nursing workforce to meet today’s challenges.