AI Technology is Reshaping the US Nursing Industry: Healthcare Workers Fight Back

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the healthcare field in the United States. Across the country, hundreds of hospitals are utilizing increasingly sophisticated computer programs to monitor patients’ vital signs, flag emergency situations, and trigger step-by-step care plans, tasks that were previously carried out by nurses and other healthcare professionals. This trend has sparked protests among nursing staff.

Hospitals argue that AI helps improve nurses’ productivity, while also addressing issues of professional burnout and staffing shortages. However, nursing unions believe that this technology is overriding nurses’ professional expertise and lowering the quality of patient care.

The National Nurses United is the largest registered nurses’ union in the United States. Michelle Mahon, the director of nursing practice at the union, stated, “Hospitals have been waiting for this moment, a seemingly legitimate replacement for nurses. The whole ecosystem is geared toward automation, de-skilling, and ultimately displacing nursing staff.”

Mahon’s union has organized over twenty demonstrations across the country, advocating for a say in how AI is used and ensuring protection from disciplinary action when nurses choose to ignore automated suggestions.

For years, hospitals have been striving to use technology aimed at enhancing the quality of care and streamlining costs. They are now linking data from medical devices with electronic health records, conducting analyses to predict medical issues, and guiding nurses in their care. However, AI in hospitals may issue false alarms and provide dangerous recommendations.

Michelle Collins, the dean of the nursing school at Loyola University Chicago, pointed out that even the most advanced technology can miss signs that nurses often notice, such as patients’ facial expressions and odors. But humans are not infallible.

Collins said, “It would be foolish of us to completely disregard this. We should embrace all that it can do to enhance our care, but we should also be mindful that it doesn’t replace the human element.”

Experts researching AI in nursing suggest that such programs may be suitable for relatively healthy individuals who actively seek care. However, these individuals do not represent the majority in the healthcare system.

Roschelle Fritz, an associate professor at the nursing school of the University of California, Davis, stated, “In the United States, the majority of healthcare is consumed by seriously ill patients. Whether chatbots are suitable for these individuals is a question we must consider.”

(Reference: Associated Press)