Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Support Evidence-based Practice: A Clinical Nurse Specialist Case Application.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), as a new technology and innovation in practice, is here. The purpose of this paper is to introduce general principles for using GenAI to enhance the workflow of the clinical nurse specialist. DESCRIPTION: This technology is rapidly advancing and influencing practice, education, communication, and workflow for nurses and clinical nurse specialists. Understanding how to optimize GenAI, including developing strong prompts to improve outputs, is shared. OUTCOME: A hypothetical example of a clinical error is used to demonstrate ways in which GenAI can be used to search the literature, create a Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) document and a competency tool is presented. CONCLUSIONS: GenAI is a useful tool supporting the workflow of clinical nurse specialists in all practice settings. Understanding the nuances of using AI inclusive of the importance of human, expert oversight by the clinical nurse specialist, can build stronger nursing and healthcare systems resources and optimize patient outcomes.