Nurses across the United States are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence in their daily work, but trust in the technology remains deeply fragile. A new survey released Tuesday by Incredible Health and reported by The Washington Post reveals that 44 percent of nurses now use AI at work — nearly triple the 15 percent recorded last year. Yet more than 80 percent of those surveyed say AI is not accurate enough to rely on without independent verification.
The findings, based on responses from over 2,200 nurses nationwide, paint a complex picture of an industry caught between a severe staffing crisis and the promise of automation. The U.S. currently faces a shortage of 263,000 registered nurses, a number expected to grow, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Nurses reported using AI primarily for documenting patient interactions, drafting educational materials for patients and families, and looking up drug or clinical references. But the time savings are inconsistent: nearly half of AI-using nurses said the technology did not save them any time the last time they used it, while 19 percent reported saving more than an hour.
Perhaps most tellingly, only 11 percent of respondents believe AI will meaningfully help alleviate the nursing shortage within the next five years. The skepticism reflects a broader unease about deploying imperfect algorithms in high-stakes clinical environments where errors can have life-or-death consequences.
"The survey captures a moment of transition," said Gerrit De Vynck, the Post reporter covering the story. "Nurses are clearly using AI more, but they're also its most honest critics — they see its limitations up close every day."
The results arrive as hospitals and clinics across the country accelerate AI adoption, driven by venture capital investment and product rollouts from major tech companies. For many nurses, the technology remains a work in progress rather than a reliable partner.
