Every coin has two sides: ChatGPT poses a potential threat to Nursing Students' Education (2024)

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Every coin has two sides: ChatGPT poses a potential threat to Nursing Students' Education (1)

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One recent example of artificial intelligence is the generative pre-trained transformer (ChatGPT) perceived as a conversational chatbot launched by the artificial intelligence company OpenAI® in 2022 and quickly gained widespread popularity (1). Recently, we have seen more research focusing on developing artificial intelligence technologies in nursing. However, most existing studies focus on the capabilities and functionalities of this robot, while due to the novelty of this technology application, there are extensive unknown dimensions associated with it. Therefore, identifying all dimensions of it requires time. These sensitivities are particularly more relevant in the education of nursing students. As nursing care continues to evolve, nursing education must also evolve. Today, the development of artificial intelligence technologies and technological advancements herald significant changes in the future of nursing (2).

Nurses constitute a vital part of the healthcare workforce worldwide and play a key role in promoting the health of communities. Therefore, health professionals' education are more important than other fields, Because the students of these fields are the future workforce and are supposed to protect human lives as their most valuable asset. Part of this importance can be attributed to the close connection between nurses' activities and patients' health and well-being. In many definitions of nursing, emphasis has been placed not only on its scientific aspect but also on its artistic aspect (3). Nursing as an art involves creatively using knowledge and science based on skill and expertise to convey emotions and concepts to others. Using chatGPT requires interpretation, sensitivity, and active participation. Skillful use of empirical knowledge to tailor to the unique needs of patients and cautious use of creativity is essential (4). Emphasizing ethical principles is another aspect of this concept.

Among the capabilities of ChatGPT in nursing education are providing nearly instant, comprehensive, and logical textual responses to instructors' academic questions, solving university assignments, and conducting research projects. Offering quick, accurate, and convincing responses can lead students to excessively trust ChatGPT as an information source and become dependent on it. Over-reliance on artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT may decrease direct interactions between nursing students and instructors. The experiences of specialized instructors and experienced nurses can be invaluable and help students better understand the course material. Personal experiences usually carry a higher value than pure scientific information, and ChatGPT does not provide this added value. This issue can lead to problems in developing essential skills in nursing students. These skills include critical thinking, clinical reasoning, the ability to design a nursing care plan, and problem-solving skills (5).

Furthermore, despite the ease of access to chatbots like ChatGPT, nursing students may be less inclined to find personal solutions and engage in critical thinking. This ultimately leads to the training of nurses who may need a greater understanding of patient care situations. Communication is essential in nursing, and nursing students, by developing their communication skills, enable better patient care. Suppose nursing students are constantly engaged with digital tools and artificial intelligence. In that case, their communication abilities may decrease in real-life situations, leading to insufficient and inappropriate communication with patients in clinical settings. Technological addiction, defined as excessive use of technology, is another potential threat posed by these robots to students, which can lead to psychological, social, and physical problems (6). Therefore, creating and maintaining a balance between artificial intelligence and human capabilities in nursing education seems essential.

While the features and capabilities of these chatbots can potentially revolutionize nursing education, if not used properly, they can be a double-edged sword! Certainly, the complete replacement of artificial intelligence for human intelligence is not possible, at least in nursing. We need nurses in clinical settings who, in addition to practical skills, possess clinical reasoning abilities, analytical power, and high problem-solving skills. Artificial intelligence technologies can threaten this and be perceived as a death knell for traditional learning. Therefore, preventing their potentially dangerous threats in nursing education is recommended, especially considering regulations and guidelines before their use becomes as uncontrollable as the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence of unknown issues surrounding artificial intelligence, like the dark side of the moon, emphasizes the need for further studies on artificial intelligence threats (beyond the dark side of artificial intelligence) concurrently with the development of existing knowledge about its capabilities.

Author contributions

ASh: Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. ASa: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. MG: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

Funding Statement

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

References

1. Tam W, Huynh T, Tang A, Luong S, Khatri Y, Zhou W. Nursing education in the age of artificial intelligence powered Chatbots (AI-Chatbots): are we ready yet?Nurse Educ Today. (2023) 129:105917. 10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105917 [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

2. Buchanan C, Howitt ML, Wilson R, Booth RG, Risling T, Bamford M. Predicted influences of artificial intelligence on nursing education: scoping review. JMIR Nurs. (2021) 4:e23933. 10.2196/23933 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

3. DeLaune SC, Ladner PK, McTier L, Tollefson J. Fundamentals of Nursing. Southbank, VIC: Cengage AU; (2023). [Google Scholar]

4. Shahsavari H, Salsali M, Mohammadpour A. Nursing as an Art. Hayat. (2010) 16:23−33. [Google Scholar]

5. Abujaber AA, Abd-Alrazaq A, Al-Qudimat AR, Nashwan AJ, AbuJaber A. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of ChatGPT integration in nursing education: a narrative review. Cureus. (2023) 15:e48643. 10.7759/cureus.48643 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

6. Gugliandolo M, Costa S, Kuss D, Cuzzocrea F, Verrastro V. Technological addiction in adolescents: the interplay between parenting and psychological basic needs. Int J Ment Health Addict. (2020) 18:1389–402. 10.1007/s11469-019-00156-4 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Frontiers in Medicine are provided here courtesy of Frontiers Media SA

Every coin has two sides: ChatGPT poses a potential threat to Nursing Students' Education (2024)

FAQs

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing nursing and health students today *? ›

Time Management. One of the most common challenges that you will face as a student nurse is maintaining a balance between your studies and your personal life.

Which trend is an effect of the nursing shortage on nursing education and ultimately a safety issue regarding client care? ›

Faculty shortages and limitations on student enrollment is an effect of the nursing shortage on nursing education and ultimately a safety issue regarding client care.

What is the major issue facing nursing education today? ›

Inadequate capacity in nursing schools, increasing requirements to take part in non-academic university activities and relatively low pay are a primary contributing factor to the deficit of nurses and the lack of nursing faculty is a primary causative factor of the capacity restrains.

What are the biggest challenges or issues that nurses face today? ›

Nurses may experience workplace violence including bullying and verbal abuse from doctors, fellow nurses and health care workers, and patients and their families. At the extreme end, they may be victims of physical abuse. Workplace violence is often unreported, and can take an emotional and physical toll on sufferers.

What is the biggest contributing cause to the nursing shortage? ›

An Aging Patient Population

As more baby boomers retire, this demographic continues to grow. The result is an increased potential need for health services and clinicians since elderly adults are more likely to develop chronic diseases and experience health conditions that require medical attention.

What is the main problem with the nursing shortage? ›

Nursing shortages lead to errors, higher morbidity, and mortality rates. In hospitals with high patient-to-nurse ratios, nurses experience burnout, dissatisfaction, and the patients experienced higher mortality and failure-to-rescue rates than facilities with lower patient-to-nurse ratios.

What factors affect nursing education today? ›

An examination of the root causes of the education system's insufficient capacity to meet undergraduate educational needs reveals four major barriers: (1) the aging and shortage of nursing faculty; (2) insufficient clinical placement opportunities of the right kind or duration for prelicensure nurses to learn their ...

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing healthcare? ›

Current Challenges
  • What System? The health care system can hardly be called a system. ...
  • Poor Accommodation of Patients' Needs. ...
  • Inability to Assimilate the Increasingly Complex Science Base. ...
  • Slow Adoption of Information Technology. ...
  • Failure to Address Growing Consumerism Among Patients. ...
  • Workforce Shortages and Discontent.

What do you consider the most challenging aspect of nursing as a student? ›

Juggling School and Work: Many nursing students work to support their education and living expenses. Balancing work with the academic and clinical demands of your nursing course can be a tough act. 4. Emotional Hurdles: You may face emotionally challenging situations during clinical rotations or in your personal life.

What do nursing students struggle with? ›

It's common to have self-doubts and question our abilities during nursing school sometimes, but we should try to combat our negative thoughts and focus on working hard to become the nurses we know we can be. Nursing school is challenging, but with hard work, motivation and self-care, we can be successful.

What are some challenges nurse leaders face in today's health care settings? ›

ANA Nursing Resources Hub
  • Nursing Issue #1: Inadequate Staff.
  • Nursing Issue #2: Mental Health Concerns.
  • Nursing Issue #3: Lack of Advancement Opportunities.
  • Nursing Issue #4: Fear of Workplace Violence.

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