Case Studies and White Papers

It Could be “The Smartest Nurse You Know”

Imagine the smartest nurse you know. The one with all the years of experience. The one you text mid-shift because you know she knows.

She has every hack, knows every way to handle a difficult patient, and let’s not even get started on her knowledge of cardiovascular meds and their interactions.

Now imagine you get a million of her, all at once, working in nanoseconds to answer your questions in real time. No waiting. She’s just there. That’s what AI for nursing could be. It wouldn’t replace nursing…we’d still need smart nurses to fact check AI and feed knowledge into AI.

But just imagine what it would be like to not have to worry about your unit when Tica is on vacation or when Kristen retires.

It Could be Nursing Intuition for Your Nursing Intuition

One of the most promising applications for AI in nursing is predictive modeling. It takes all your patient’s information (literally all of it, even real time vitals) and lets you know earlier than ever that your patient might be headed for a downturn.

You’ll still need that nursing intuition but think of this as your ultimate nursing intuition companion. It’s your data-driven support system for when your gut tells you, “Something’s not right here.”

Early studies with this AI driven predictive modeling have shown that it works, not only in the life-saving department, but also in shortening hospital stays, mitigating risk-infection and more.

It Could be Both Hardware and Software

Most folks’ limited interaction with AI is asking Chatgpt to help them write an email to their boss. But some companies are looking at helping nurses bridge the familiar with the unfamiliar with wearable tech and AI. 

Like our example above with early predictive modeling, wearable tech would alert the nurse to subtle shifts in the patient’s vital signs, or when concerning lab results are posted, or even when a confused patient is getting dangerously close to the edge of the bed but hasn’t yet set off the alarm. 

Nurses simply can’t be everywhere at once, and they can’t always be in front of their computer screen. A short haptic buzz, however, that alerts them when their critically ill patient needs extra attention could be the right combination of old school and new school tech.
 

It Could be Your Favorite Diagnostician’s Favorite Diagnostician

Most nurses are adept at knowing a little about a lot. And nurses in heavily specialized areas are adept at knowing a lot about a little. Many of us can read a basic xray, know which lab results we better call the doctor about immediately and can eyeball the tele monitor for abnormalities.

We don’t, however, diagnose. It’s not our role. Developing a sound, basic clinical knowledge of the basic of what diagnosticians do is.

AI is showing promising results in many areas of diagnostics, becoming a helpful companion and second set of “eyes” for radiologists, pathologists and other important diagnostic roles. It’s helping to pinpoint disease states with greater accuracy, which leads to better treatment.

For nurses, this means we can become better educators or simply be more understanding of our patients. At the very least, it’s one less frightened person we have to say, “We’re doing everything we can to find answers for you, I promise.”

It Could Eliminate Manual Charting

I saved this one for last, because, well, can you blame me? Some studies estimate that nurses spend up to 40% of their shifts charting. 

What if AI could simply “listen” to your head-to-toe assessment and accurately fill it into a patient’s chart? What if AI automatically recorded changes in vital signs, recognized that your patient answered orientation questions differently than four hours ago, “remembered” that you turned your patient every two hours? 

This is all within the realm of possibility with some of the newer advances and AI integrations into existing charting software and platforms. While of course nurses will always need to verify data for accuracy, the amount of time given back into their shifts to educate patients, or sit with them when they’re alone, or take full lunch breaks could quite literally save lives and extend careers. 

These 5 applications are just a few of the possibilities that AI and automated technology could bring to nursing. 

What we love about automation is that it doesn’t have to be complicated (and probably shouldn’t be). The one thing we continue to hear from our nurse leaders and nurses is that our own automated technology is near-perfect because it is so simple. 

Nurses don’t need a lot…we just need the right companies to listen, to find solutions that work and make our jobs easier, and for hospitals to put it into action.