AI in Nursing: How TESU Is Preparing the Next Generation of Healthcare Providers
Episode 22 of the Edison Sound Stage Podcast
AI is changing healthcare fast — here's how TESU is making sure nursing students are ready.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a concept on the horizon for healthcare. It's already in the room, listening to patient visits, flagging sepsis risks, analyzing wound progression and helping nurses manage the relentless documentation burden that follows every shift.
So, what does that mean for the nurses and health-professions students preparing to enter that world?
That's exactly what we explored in the latest episode of Edison Sound Stage. TESU sat down with Dr. Ruth Wittmann-Price, dean of the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions, and Dr. Lorraine Chewey, associate dean of Undergraduate Programs, to talk AI, nursing education and what's coming next. Keep reading for the highlights — then tune in for the full conversation.
Listen to Episode 22
Available on: Apple Podcasts | Podbean | YouTube | Spotify | iHeart
Episode Length: 29 minutes | Perfect for: Your commute, workout or lunch break
What You'll Discover in This Episode
AI Is Already on the Floor
If you're a nursing student wondering whether you'll actually encounter AI in your clinical rotations, the answer is yes — and probably sooner than you think.
Chewey shared that clinical mentors are already reporting the use of ambient documentation tools that listen to nurse-patient interactions and draft notes in real time, freeing nurses to stay focused on the patient in front of them. Electronic health records are embedding AI to flag patients at risk for sepsis or falls. Apps are being used to photograph and track wound progression. AI is even being used to suggest medication doses and care protocols based on patient data.
And the feedback from graduating students? Largely positive. AI is making it easier to distribute medications, implement interventions and manage scheduling, taking some of the weight off an already demanding workload.
Want to hear what graduating nurses are actually saying about AI on the floor? Wittmann-Price shares firsthand feedback in the episode — listen now.
The Human Element Isn't Going Anywhere
Here's what Wittmann-Price and Chewey made clear: AI is a powerful tool. It is not a replacement for the nurse.
Nursing demands nuanced human judgment, the kind that weighs a patient's preferences against the best clinical evidence, recognizes when an algorithm misses a socioeconomic factor and knows when to advocate for equitable care, even when the data doesn't account for it. That is irreplaceable, and it's exactly what TESU is working to protect in how it prepares students.
Chewey put it plainly: AI is excellent at pattern recognition, but nursing students need to develop the critical reasoning and judgment to synthesize AI outputs with physical assessments, patient history and the full context of the person in front of them.
How TESU Is Building AI Into the Curriculum
TESU isn't waiting to see how AI shakes out. The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions has spent the past year in a significant undertaking: revising the school’s curricula to intentionally weave AI literacy throughout, from the accelerated BSN program and RN to BSN program to the doctoral level.
That includes introducing AI modules in foundational courses focused on evidence-based practice and health assessment. It also means rethinking assignments to ensure academic integrity, moving away from discussion posts that can be AI-generated toward videos, complex case studies and real-time interactions that require students to demonstrate their own thinking.
At the same time, the school is developing assignments that incorporate AI deliberately, giving students hands-on experience learning to evaluate AI outputs for accuracy, fairness and relevance before acting on them.
At the doctoral level, AI is being used for statistical analysis — allowing researchers to incorporate more variables and explore questions with greater capability than traditional methods allow.
Curious about the specifics of how TESU is redesigning its nursing curriculum? Chewey goes deeper on the approach in the episode. [Listen here.]
Where AI Can Help Most
If you ask Wittmann-Price where AI has the greatest promise in nursing, she doesn't hesitate: documentation.
She knows the feeling firsthand — she’s stayed an hour and a half past the end of a 12-hour ICU shift just to finish charting. AI has the potential to change that, and in doing so, address one of the most pressing issues in nursing today: burnout.
Beyond documentation, AI can help optimize staffing based on patient acuity, support early predictive monitoring to reduce complications and ultimately free nurses to spend more time doing what they went into nursing to do.
Looking Ahead
Five years from now, Wittmann-Price believes the honeymoon phase of AI will be behind us. It will be more integrated, more accepted and more intuitive, especially for students who are already seeing it in real time during their clinical and practicum courses.
TESU is working to stay ahead of that curve. With the launch of the AI Institute and a commitment to ensuring every undergraduate student graduates with AI competency, the University is building a foundation that goes beyond keeping up — it's designed to lead.
As Chewey put it: build your AI literacy deliberately. Focus on your strengths as a nurse. Lean into your relationship-building abilities. And remember that nursing has adapted to every major technological shift — from electronic health records to telehealth — and nurses are still at the top of the healthcare pyramid.
AI is not something to be feared. It's something to grow with.
Hear Wittmann-Price and Chewey's full take on where nursing and healthcare are headed in the next five years — including what they think sets TESU apart from other institutions. It's a conversation worth your time. [Listen here.]
Listen to This Episode of Edison Sound Stage
Ready to hear the full conversation? This episode of Edison Sound Stage is available now wherever you listen — Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and more. Search "Edison Sound Stage" or click the player below.
If this episode resonated with you, subscribe so you never miss a conversation. And if you're a nurse, a nursing student or someone who works in healthcare, share this episode. It's a discussion worth having.
Learn more about TESU’s nursing programs here.