Title : The AI safety pause: A competency framework for preparing nurses to critically evaluate AI in clinical practice
Abstract:
Background: Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering clinical nursing workflows through sepsis prediction alerts, clinical deterioration scores, and diagnostic decision support tools. Yet the profession most responsible for patient safety, care coordination, and bedside clinical judgment has largely been excluded from AI governance, design, and implementation decisions. Most nurses currently lack a structured framework for evaluating AI-generated recommendations before acting on them in patient care.
Purpose: This presentation introduces AI Competency Domains for Nurses, the first structured competency framework designed specifically to prepare nurses for AI-enabled healthcare environments. Central to the framework is the AI Safety Pause—a practical, three-question clinical reasoning tool that empowers nurses to critically evaluate AI output at the point of care:
(1) Does this make clinical sense?
(2) What might the AI be missing?
(3) Who is accountable for this decision?
Framework: The competency domains span AI literacy, data stewardship, clinical decision support, ethics and legal considerations, quality and safety, and leadership and advocacy—addressing the full scope of nursing practice from education through executive leadership. The framework positions nurses not as passive end users of AI tools, but as essential evaluators and architects of AI-integrated care systems.
Implications: Since its publication in April 2026, the framework has held the #1 New Release position in Nursing Issues, Trends & Roles on Amazon, reflecting significant demand across nursing education, practice, and leadership. This presentation will provide attendees with actionable competency benchmarks for curriculum design, clinical workflow integration, and organizational AI governance. Participants will leave with a practical tool—the AI Safety Pause—that can be implemented immediately in any clinical setting.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, nursing competency, clinical decision support, patient safety, AI literacy, competency framework.
