Q There's been a lot of buzz lately about digital technology, from ChatGPT to virtual care. How important is it for nurse leaders to keep abreast of such topics?
Emerging technologies continue to surround us and impact how we think about, plan, and execute care for our patients. For example, ChatGPT (launched in November 2022) is an artificial intelligence (AI) model that was created by OpenAI. The user provides a question or prompt, and the machine learning model provides a response based on the information used to "train" the model.
What makes ChatGPT different from Google is its ability to complete complex tasks; you can tell the model to write essays, write a piece of code, or even help troubleshoot the code. It simulates human conversation and can tackle complex interactions. The model does have limitations depending on the level of information with which it was trained. Thus, it's essential to always use your critical thinking skills when integrating AI models with patient care.
It starts with education
With the availability of emerging technology such as ChatGPT, nurse leaders need to evaluate how education and training are provided to nursing students and those entering the professional arena. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report recommends that students' experiences incorporate interprofessional collaboration and multisector partnerships to enable them to address social needs comprehensively and drive structural improvement.1 The report encourages nurses to develop technical competencies in the use of telehealth, digital health tools, and data analytics as part of their continuous professional development.1 Combining soft skills (communication, emotional intelligence, empathy) with this technical knowledge will prepare the nursing workforce to practice competently in today's digital health ecosystem.
Transforming care delivery
We've seen an increase in daily virtual consults since the pandemic. Courses on AI, machine learning, data science, and data mining are widely promoted as the need for expert resources in these fields will continue to grow exponentially. We've departed from the traditional definition of health defined by the World Health Organization as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and the absence of disease or infirmity.2 The 21st century healthcare system has embraced digital health, in which people and communities are connected and empowered to "manage health and wellness, augmented by accessible and supportive provider teams working within flexible, integrated, interoperable, and digitally-enabled care environments that strategically leverage digital tools, technologies, and services to transform care delivery."3
As nursing informaticists, we understand the importance of interoperability. We're challenged by collecting and inputting redundant data when systems don't talk to each other, thus affecting patients' transitions of care. Again, students need informatics training, not only in regard to the design and usability of electronic/clinical application systems but also the governance process. Technical competencies will become standard requirements for all nurses in facilitating digital transformational care. As always, nurse managers must lead the way.
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