No matter where one turns these days, engaging with some form of AI is likely. From the algorithms that power social media to virtual assistants that answer questions and control smart devices, AI is actively shaping how the world works. Opinions about AI’s impact on the workforce range from positive expectations that it will reduce employees’ workloads to negative sentiments that AI will replace human interactions.
In healthcare—with patient lives at stake—the debate seems particularly momentous. In an industry battling staffing shortages, burnout, and increasing costs, health system leaders need to consider all possible solutions, including AI. To truly understand the extent to which AI can help in healthcare and how to implement it effectively, it is important to hear directly from those entrusted with caring for patients: nurses.
McKinsey and the American Nurses Foundation jointly deployed a national survey to evaluate nurses’ perceptions of AI, as well as their familiarity and experience with it. The survey also sought to understand perceived risks and opportunities from various AI applications. It garnered responses from 7,200 nurses1 (see sidebar, “About the research collaboration between the American Nurses Foundation and McKinsey”).
The survey findings suggest optimism and excitement about AI-powered tools that are tempered by a desire to ensure that quality of care is not sacrificed. To safeguard this balance, nurse respondents also expressed a keenness to better understand how AI works and the need for more opportunities to provide input on how best to use the technology in the clinical environment.
While AI may not be a panacea that fully solves all the challenges that nurses face, it could meaningfully alleviate some of the workload burden. In 2023, McKinsey and the American Nurses Foundation evaluated how nurses were spending their time and estimated that roughly 20 percent of a nurse’s shift could be freed up through technology. As AI advances at a breakneck pace, surveyed nurses acknowledge the support these tools could provide. The share of respondents to our latest survey who say they’d like to see more AI tools incorporated into their work is 64 percent. This enthusiasm is consistent across all age bands but is slightly higher, at 71 percent, among nurses aged 30 to 39 (Exhibit 1).
Nonetheless, surveyed nurses are keenly aware of the perceived trade-off between lessening workloads and possibly compromising medical attention and patient safety. When asked how the idea of working with AI makes them feel, 42 percent report being hopeful that quality will improve, but 23 percent say they are uncomfortable about what AI could mean for patient care (Exhibit 2). Possible ways to address this concern could be better demonstration of the quality of AI-supported interventions, thoughtful consideration about how AI tools can work in conjunction with human interaction, and strengthened education on AI for nurses and care team members. Furthermore, only 37 percent of surveyed nurses under age 30 are hopeful that quality could improve. This group is likely more familiar with AI in their day-to-day lives and therefore may already be aware of some of the risks associated with using AI. As a result, this group might be more cautious about AI’s broader implication in patient care. Considering these nurses are the future of the workforce, leaders can consider strategies to help improve the group’s trust in AI.
Health systems leaders and AI developers should consider nurses’ concerns about the quality of patient care. Nurses are on the front line day in and day out; to get a clearer picture of what’s making them uncomfortable, we asked them to rank their top three concerns about AI in healthcare. The largest share of respondents, 61 percent, report trust in accuracy as a top three concern; 49 percent are most concerned about the lack of human interaction; and 36 percent point to a lack of knowledge on how to use AI-based technology and tools (Exhibit 3).
To create AI tools that are informed by and solve for varied clinical care concerns, AI developers and healthcare administrators can partner with nurses on development and testing. Furthermore, nursing experts can be involved in AI governance and oversight. When asked what was most needed to alleviate concerns, 73 percent of respondents suggest having nursing input into the design and optimization of AI tools (Exhibit 4). Evidence of AI’s effectiveness on quality and patient safety, as well as clear guidelines and regulations on AI use, were also named top requirements among surveyed nurses (69 percent for each).
Overall, nurses are cautiously optimistic about AI’s potential to alleviate their workloads and to help the patients they care for. We presented surveyed nurses with nine possible applications for AI in the clinical setting, and for each, we asked them to rate how familiar they were with the technology, how helpful they felt AI would be, where there was opportunity to improve patient care and their work, and the level of risk (Exhibit 5).
More than half of nurse respondents are at least somewhat familiar with using AI.
About two-thirds of respondents say they think each AI application could be very helpful.
More than two-thirds of nurse respondents say there is at least some opportunity to improve patient care or case workload with AI in each scenario.
In terms of risks, 38 percent of respondents note that using AI to improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis and decisions poses the greatest risk to patient care.
AI has already begun to change the ways that many industries approach work and task management. It seems plausible that the technology could reshape healthcare as well, and our survey findings suggest cautious optimism in this area. However, this healthcare evolution won’t be possible without nurses’ engagement. Fortunately, in our survey of 7,200 nurses, respondents share that they are keen to use AI more at work and to be involved in building and defining how these tools can be used in their workplace. As AI evolves and its uses become more familiar, frontline insights about what doesn’t work will be as important as the success stories. While many stakeholders may be eager to leap into the future with AI, it is critical to have leadership, insight, and feedback from healthcare’s largest workforce—nurses—to ensure that high-quality patient care remains the priority across all care settings.
