NURSES’ USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING AND PERCEIVED PATIENT SAFETY

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming modern nursing practice by assisting clinical decision-making, boosting patient safety, and improving care quality. Although AI-based technologies, especially clinical decision support systems, have the potential to minimize medical errors, maximize resource utilization, and enable prompt clinical interventions, their application in nursing practice is still uneven because of issues like high infrastructure costs, limited algorithmic transparency, worries about data interoperability, and ambiguity surrounding professional accountability. The impact of AI on clinical decision-making and patient safety outcomes was investigated by nursing students using a descriptive qualitative research approach. Fifteen Bachelor of Science in Nursing students were chosen based on their clinical learning experiences and academic exposure, and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data. To find recurrent themes, meanings, and opinions about the application of AI in nursing education and clinical practice, the interview data were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. Participants saw AI as a possible accelerator for healthcare modernization, better clinical judgment, and improved nursing education through augmented learning, according to the findings, which highlighted a central theme of cautious innovation. However, this confidence was tempered by worries referred to as a dependability paradox, which reflects the conflict between AI systems' practical performance in real-world clinical situations and their theoretical correctness. Additionally, participants stressed the necessity for institutional preparedness through formal curriculum reform and structured training, as well as ethical duty, ambiguity in accountability, and data integrity. The study comes to the conclusion that advancement in three crucial areas—technical proficiency, clinical validation, and professional governance—is necessary for the effective integration of AI into nursing practice. In addition to continuing to practice clinical reasoning, ethical judgment, and patient-centered care, future nurses must be equipped to critically assess AI tools. It is advised that more research be done to create human-AI partnership models that present AI as a helpful supplement to nursing practice rather than as a substitute for human-centered, compassionate clinical care.