Wolters Kluwer Health has launched a new report under its Future Ready Healthcare initiative titled Nursing insights: Redefining nursing practice for an AI-driven future.
The report examines staffing shortages, career satisfaction, and other factors affecting the nursing profession, while noting that nurses’ commitment to patient care and healthcare delivery remains unchanged.
It explores how technologies such as generative AI (GenAI) may affect the nursing workforce by alleviating certain challenges and assesses nurses’ views on the introduction of new digital solutions.
The report finds that nurses are receptive to generative AI (GenAI) and believe it can help address workforce shortages.
It notes that nurses are adopting AI within healthcare settings and highlights the need for hospitals and health systems to work closely with nursing teams when implementing these technologies.
The report emphasizes collaboration and investment in digital skills as factors that support sustainable change while maintaining clinical judgment and patient trust.
While burnout and staffing shortages continue to affect nurses, the report identifies these pressures as creating opportunities for new technologies and care models.
Most nurses in the United States report that AI use has become commonplace and that it may ease the transition from education to professional practice.
• 58% of nurses report using generative AI (GenAI) in their personal lives, and 46% report using it in the workplace
• 45% of nurses say generative AI (GenAI) could help reduce burnout by automating documentation, triaging routine patient questions, and streamlining workflows
• 62% say integrating AI into onboarding and training helps staff become productive more quickly by accelerating the time it takes new graduates and transfers to contribute confidently on the unit
The report also highlights concerns related to broader adoption of AI in healthcare.
It identifies a gap between the rapid rollout of consumer-grade AI and the requirements of an evidence-based sector such as healthcare.
• 22% of nurses report that their institutions have published policies governing generative AI (GenAI) use
• 22% say their organizations require formal training before deploying AI tools in nursing workflows
• 53% say they are concerned that generative AI (GenAI) could undermine decision-making skills or lead to overreliance on algorithmic outputs
The findings also address future considerations for AI in nursing practice.
Balancing technological innovation with nurses’ daily workflows while advancing health system-wide initiatives is identified as a critical challenge.
• 77% of nurses say generative AI (GenAI) is important to their organizations’ future productivity
• 80% of organizations report plans to use digital strategies for professional development to prepare nurses for AI-enabled practice
• 28% of nurses say generative AI (GenAI)-enhanced onboarding and training make new staff more productive and confident
• 54% say generative AI (GenAI) can enhance innovation, and an equal proportion say it can improve collaboration and communication
The Future Ready Healthcare Survey Report is based on a nationally representative survey conducted by Ipsos, an independent marketing research firm, in early 2025.
Respondents included physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals, administrators, and medical librarians across the United States.
Click here to read the original press release.
