Nursing Education in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Are We Ready?

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has taken the world by storm, causing notable tension within the field of education. Nursing education is no exception, facing imminent challenges and opportunities. GAI, a unique and immensely powerful technology championed by ChatGPT (Chat generative pre-trained transformer), represents a new frontier in artificial intelligence. ChatGPT, a product of deep learning - a subset of machine learning that mirrors the human brain's approach to learning and responding to data, information, and prompts - exemplifies this technological leap (Sahoo et al., 2022). GAI stands out for its ability not only to provide responses but also to generate the content of those responses, surpassing the human-like interactions typically seen in conversational AI (Lim et al., 2023; Su & Yang, 2023). Currently, ChatGPT has demonstrated significant application potential in nursing education in various aspects. For example, ChatGPT provides personalized learning (Tam et al., 2023); is easy to use (Vaughn et al., 2024); provides rapid information (Goktas et al., 2024; Liu et al., 2023), rapid responses, and assistance in writing (Sun & Hoelscher, 2023); improves students' problem-solving and critical thinking skills (Goktas et al., 2024; Sun & Hoelscher, 2023); supports educators in developing curricula and preparing course materials and may be used in translation processes (Tam et al., 2023); and helps healthcare professionals better understand complex medical concepts and procedures by providing easily comprehensible and up-to-date information (Krüger et al., 2023). Therefore, integrating ChatGPT into nursing education not only provides students with a more effective and interactive learning experience but also offers educators supportive tools that are directly applicable in teaching. These technologies can enhance / improve teaching by providing personalized learning solutions through, for example, generating teaching cases and simulating clinical scenarios to enhance the learning experience of students (Liu et al., 2023; Vaughn et al., 2024). Despite the significant benefits realized, nursing education in the era of GAI also faces challenges and limitations. Over-reliance on ChatGPT may limit students' critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation capabilities, leading to a lack of independent thought. Educators should integrate GAI-supported tools into the learning process, but encourage and guide students to use ChatGPT as a supplementary learning tool rather than a substitute (Tam et al., 2023). This approach will help ensure students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to use the technology responsibly and ethically and allow educators to better address key related challenges, enhance education quality, and lay a foundation for cultivating high-quality nursing professionals. GAI is inevitable, and banning it may lead to increased attention and psychological reactance, making students more eager to access this technology. Therefore, educational institutions should embrace rather than shun its use (Lim et al., 2023). It is hoped that readers, after reading this special column, will be inspired to learn more about GAI applications and their significance and thus come to view GAI as a driving force for educational transformation, ensuring the continuous development of education and safeguarding the future of education and, by extension, the society of tomorrow.