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Consortium aims to ease tensions among nurses over AI
The Nursing and AI Innovation Consortium has formed to unite clinicians, educators and industry leaders in a strategy to integrate AI in nursing, despite concerns over the technology.
The Florida State University College of Nursing has launched the Nursing and AI Innovation Consortium, or NAIIC, to foster collaboration around AI use among health systems, educators and industry leaders.
Launched on Sept. 17, 2025, NAIIC aims to keep nurses involved in AI integration, develop national standards for responsible AI adoption and demonstrate real-world benefits of AI in nursing. The consortium includes Microsoft; Quadrivia AI, the company behind an AI assistant for clinicians; and Hippocratic AI, which offers generative AI agents for healthcare.
The consortium is part of the FSU's Nursifying AI initiative, which focuses on leveraging AI's potential to enhance patient care, streamline healthcare workflows and support nurses.
Although close to 90% of healthcare organizations are now using AI in some form, there's no national framework for integrating the technology into patient care, according to Jing Wang, Ph.D., dean of FSU College of Nursing and co-director of NAIIC.
"This leaves adoption fragmented, inequitable and often misaligned with clinical realities," Wang said.
NAIIC is developing comprehensive standards around AI adoption that incorporate the full AI life cycle. That includes research methodologies, educational curricula, product development guidelines and clinical implementation products, according to Wang.
"These standards will ensure AI integration is evidence-based, equitable and aligned with nursing practice realities," Wang said.
Nurses protest over AI
The launch of the consortium follows demonstrations by nurses over AI that have taken place across the country.
On Sept. 23, 2025, nurses at 22 Kaiser Permanente (KP) facilities held a protest over layoffs and AI use in hospitals. Nurses at KP referred to AI as "untested technologies," according to CBS News. This event was not considered a strike, but nurses later went on a five-day strike in October, primarily over wages.
Regarding the work of the AI consortium, KP had "no comment," and National Nurses United did not respond to requests for comment.
However, unions have been vocal against AI use.
Michelle Gutierrez Vo, RN, in the Adult and Family Medicine Department at Kaiser Fremont Medical Center and one of four presidents of the California Nurses Association, expressed her concerns on AI in National Nurses United's National Nurse magazine.
"You simply cannot replace nurses with technology like artificial intelligence," Gutierrez Vo said. "Instead of looking to these untested technologies being pushed by corporate executives, Kaiser management should be working with us to ensure that issues like safe staffing and wage theft aren't impacting patients and nurses."
Earlier this year, nurses at Northwell South Shore University Hospital in New York won a contract that included the right to review AI technology before it's implemented.
"Although we welcome technology that keeps patients safe and healthy, we refuse to accept changes that can be bad for patients and bad for nurses, undermine our union voice and help lay the groundwork for a future with worse healthcare outcomes for all," wrote Pat Kane, RN, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association.
Wang would not comment on work with specific unions but understood the hesitancy of nurses regarding the technology.
"There's understandable caution among nurses about how AI will be implemented -- particularly whether it will complement or compete with their roles," Wang said. "In reality, when integrated correctly, AI has the potential to make their work easier and more effective -- streamlining documentation, reducing administrative burdens and improving patient safety. The challenge is making sure these tools are designed with nursing expertise at the center."
Integrating nurses in AI innovation
As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, nurses should be involved in AI integration, Wang stressed. She advocates for "nurse-in-the-loop" systems, which keep nurses involved in AI's design, development and use.
"Being 'in the loop' means nurses are there to validate data, guide clinical relevance and interpret insights within the full context of each patient's story, family and environment, something no algorithm can replicate," Wang said. "When nurses remain central, AI can strengthen, rather than substitute, human judgment."
She added that nurse-in-the-loop systems serve as "safety and quality assets" to improve documentation, predict risks and allow nurses to spend more time with patients.
For the consortium, AI innovation also means expanding its network. Although FSU College of Nursing came up with the idea for the consortium and currently leads it, Wang suggests other member organizations could take over in the future.
"Industry leaders, such as Microsoft, Cedars-Sinai, Yale School of Nursing and the American Nurses Association, all have since joined the effort," Wang said. "We continue to expand our network of partners."
How to build trust in AI among nurses
Going forward, nurse oversight will be critical to building trust in AI among clinicians and patients. Otherwise, AI could become a "black box" that makes recommendations without clinician validation and patient trust.
"Responsible AI in nursing means transparent, explainable tools that nurses can verify against their clinical expertise," Wang said.
NAIIC is also working on a policy paper that will establish national evidence-based standards around responsible AI implementation in nursing, Wang said. It will balance patient care realities with nursing profession priorities.
"It's an important next step in making sure AI strengthens nursing and supports equitable, high-quality care nationwide," Wang said.
Brian T. Horowitz started covering health IT news in 2010 and the tech beat overall in 1996.
