AI is coming fast, and this article argues nursing needs its own specialists to make sure technology strengthens, rather than sidelines, nursing care.

Journal Club Article: O’Connor, S., Zhang, M., Wicks, D., Li, X., Caton-Peters, H., White, P., & Blake, N. (2026). AI Nurse Specialists: Transforming the nursing workforce for the age of artificial intelligence. International Journal of Nursing Studies.

Short, microlearning-style journal club summary:

Background
This guest editorial argues that while AI is rapidly entering healthcare, nurses often lack the training and support to use it safely and effectively. The authors propose a new role, the AI Nurse Specialist, to help bridge the gap between nursing practice, AI tools, and patient safety.

Methods
This is editorial paper that draws on current literature and emerging examples of AI in healthcare to build the case for a specialist nursing role in AI.

Key Message
The paper suggests AI Nurse Specialists could support AI selection, implementation, validation, staff education, governance, and research. In short, they would help ensure AI tools actually fit nursing workflows and are used ethically, safely, and meaningfully in practice.

Discussion
The main takeaway is that AI in nursing should not be something done to nurses, but with nurses. The proposed role positions nurses as active leaders in shaping AI-enabled care, while keeping human judgement and patient-centred practice at the core.

Future Areas
The authors call for workforce investment, postgraduate AI and data science training, stronger undergraduate AI literacy, and research evaluating the value of AI Nurse Specialist roles across different clinical settings.