AI-Ready Nurses

A scalable solution combining nursing-centered AI infrastructure, stackable credentials, and hands-on AI learning to embed AI across the nursing lifecycle, supporting women in the workforce.

Explore the Framework Why Nursing-First AI?

About

Our Vision

We believe that nursing education and clinical training should intentionally prepare nurses to use artificial intelligence safely, ethically, and effectively to enhance patient care. AI Ready Nurses is dedicated to building nursing-centered AI infrastructure and stackable learning experiences that bridge the power of generative AI with the rigorous safety and pedagogical requirements of nursing education and practice, supporting women's careers across the nursing lifecycle.

The Challenge

Nursing is currently facing a dual crisis: a massive workforce shortage and a rapidly increasing complexity in clinical care. Nurses are at the center of how AI can expand economic opportunity and sustainable careers across the nursing lifecycle. While generative AI offers a "bold and scalable" way to support this workforce, current unconstrained AI interfaces are often:

Poorly Aligned: Generic AI doesn't understand specific nursing workflows, pedagogical goals, or the realities of nurses' work and career pathways.
High Risk: Unchecked outputs can pose unacceptable risks in nursing education and clinical learning environments.
Overwhelming: Raw LLM interactions can increase cognitive load rather than reducing it.

SURVEY · MAY 2026 · OKLAHOMA CENTER FOR NURSING

What Oklahoma nurses are telling us about AI

In May 2026, our lead partner the Oklahoma Center for Nursing surveyed 91 Oklahoma nurses on their experience with, attitudes toward, and concerns about artificial intelligence in nursing work, education, and professional practice. The findings reveal a workforce that is already adopting AI ahead of training, and asking for help.

82%

have used an AI tool for something related to their nursing work, education, or professional role

89%

received no formal training on how to use AI tools in nursing or healthcare

79%

would like to see training or resources on AI use in nursing

88%

are concerned about the accuracy of AI-generated information

How nurses are using AI

Among those who reported using AI for something:

Research / literature searching37%

Data analysis / quality improvement30%

Studying clinical concepts23%

Sentiment & confidence

How nurses feel about AI in nursing today:

Feel positive / very positive42%

Feel neutral34%

Self-identify as beginner or "don't know how"39%

Neutral / negative confidence in judging AI accuracy52%

Top concerns

What worries nurses about AI in their field:

Accuracy of AI-generated information90%

Not knowing which tools are safe to use66%

Bias or unfair recommendations46%

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR AI-READY NURSES

Oklahoma nurses are open to AI (42% positive, another 34% neutral), and the large majority are already using it without a safety net. The combination of widespread adoption (82%) with near-universal absence of training (89%) and strong demand for it (79%) is exactly the gap our nursing-first AI framework, stackable credentials, and hands-on learning experiences are designed to close.

Our Solution

Nursing-First AI Framework

We are engineering a scalable solution that builds on the strong foundation of general-purpose Large Language Models (LLM's) while providing nursing-centered AI infrastructure, stackable credentials, and hands-on AI learning experiences. The nursing workforce has seen lower adoption of AI tools, and our mission is to embed AI across the nursing lifecycle and to understand what nurses genuinely want and need from AI toolchains to then provide it in ways that support the nursing workforce.

Nursing-Lead Development

Our computer science partners will work directly with the nursing community to understand the resources they need to be successful, leading to a tool that will actually deliver on its promises.

Safe AI Tools

We enforce explicit safety boundaries, ensuring that no data ever leaves our tool and the local devices it is used on. We work strictly with local institutional policies and course guidelines to ensure our platform is safe for both nurses and their patients.

Education-First Platform

Our initial rollout aims to directly support nursing students during their education. Our computer science partners and OUHSC to ensure that our tool aligns with existing course objectives and learning goals.

Reach Across the Nursing Career Lifecycle

The AI-Ready Nurses (AIRN) project leverages an evidence-based co-design process to bridge the gap between AI development and clinical nursing practice. By integrating feedback from students, educators, and practitioners into its "Nursing-Aware" infrastructure, AIRN ensures that AI tools support rather than override professional judgment.

The project is designed for systemic, career-long impact through:

Statewide Transformation

Targeting 7,700+ practicing nurses across Oklahoma to improve healthcare outcomes in a state currently ranked 45th in the U.S.

Educational Innovation

Enrolling 1,200+ students and 400+ educators in a curriculum featuring stackable AI credentials and risk-free simulation scenarios.

National Scalability

Establishing a "National Blueprint" for nursing-first AI adoption, creating a replicable model for the 5 million nurses nationwide.

Lifecycle chart showing the reach of the Nursing‑Aware AI Engine across educators, students, and practitioners

MOMENTUM · 2026

The work is already underway

AI-Ready Nurses is grounded in the active statewide work of our lead partner, the Oklahoma Center for Nursing. The committees, programs, partnerships, and convenings below are running now, providing the infrastructure, audience, and dissemination pathways our framework will plug directly into.

LATEST · MAY 2026

Partnership with Helius Health AI: transition-to-practice initiative

OCN launched a new initiative in partnership with Helius Health AI to support nurses in the first three years of practice after licensure, with the goal of strengthening transition-to-practice and increasing nurse retention. Participants begin with a personality-based assessment that identifies the clinical specialty areas best matched to their personality and strengths, followed by periodic (every 3–6 months) check-ins over an extended period.

Info sheet available on request.

EDUCATION & TRAINING · RECRUITMENT OPENS MAY 2026

Oklahoma Nurse Faculty Academy: micro-credential for new clinical educators

A workgroup of OCN's Education & Training Advisory Committee is launching a six-month micro-credential training program for nurses new to teaching in the clinical setting. The program combines an in-person meeting, eight learning modules, and structured collaboration with a mentor. Recruitment for the inaugural cohort of 20 scholarship recipients opens May 2026, with the cohort beginning August 2026.

CONVENING · SEPTEMBER 29, 2026

Third Annual OCN Leadership Summit

The annual statewide Summit convenes OCN's full stakeholder group: nurses across all educational levels, nursing educators and leaders, employers of nurses, and professional and state nursing organizations, providing a built-in dissemination pathway for project findings, credential rollouts, and AI-readiness training.

INAUGURAL · SEPTEMBER 29, 2026

Inaugural OCN Founders Dinner

The first-ever OCN Founders Dinner recognizes those who have supported the foundational creation, mission, and work of the Oklahoma Center for Nursing. The event also serves as a fundraising opportunity to sustain and expand OCN's statewide programming.

ONGOING · MEETS EVERY OTHER MONTH

Four Advisory Committees driving statewide priorities

The OCN Board of Directors established four standing Advisory Committees, each addressing a priority area identified by Oklahoma nursing stakeholders. Committees meet every other month and shape the direction of statewide nursing workforce strategy.

Career PathwaysEducation & TrainingPolicy & FundingRecruitment & Retention

NATIONAL RECOGNITION · 2ND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

National presentation on Oklahoma's workforce data methodology

For the second consecutive year, OCN's Executive Director and two Advisory Committee Members have been selected to present Understanding Approaches and Challenges Associated with Accessing, Collecting, Analyzing, and Interpreting Workforce Data, drawn from the launch of Oklahoma's statewide clinical placement software platform, the infrastructure that ensures effective utilization of clinical sites for student nurse training.

Our Team

About our Team

The project operates using a hub‑and‑spoke collaboration model, led by the Oklahoma Center for Nursing (OCN) as the central coordinating hub. OCN provides project leadership, fiscal oversight, reporting, and statewide workforce alignment, ensuring activities reflect nursing needs across all regions of Oklahoma.

Team Structure & Organization

The AI-Ready Nurses initiative is led through a collaborative, nursing-centered structure that brings together statewide workforce leadership, academic nursing expertise, and applied computer science.

Oklahoma Center for Nursing

The Oklahoma Center for Nursing (OCN) serves as the lead and coordinating organization, providing overall project leadership, fiscal oversight, reporting, and statewide workforce alignment. OCN ensures the framework reflects real nursing workforce needs across urban, rural, and frontier communities in Oklahoma and supports dissemination and adoption across education and practice settings.

Patrice Greenawalt

Executive Director of the Oklahoma Center for Nursing (MS, RN (PI))

Patrice Greenawalt provides overall project leadership and strategic direction, bringing 45 years of clinical and leadership experience in nursing. She oversees coordination across partners, ensures alignment with statewide workforce priorities, and guides dissemination and adoption across healthcare and education settings.

OU Health Campus College of Nursing

The OU Health Campus College of Nursing leads educational strategy, curriculum integration, and credential design. Faculty leadership ensures the stackable credentials align with nursing competencies, accreditation standards, and pathways spanning pre-licensure education, continuing education, and workforce development. The College also oversees evaluation related to learner confidence, readiness, and adoption.

Helina Hoyt

OU Health Campus College of Nursing (PhD, RN, PHN (Co‑PI))

Dr. Helina Hoyt leads educational strategy, credential design, and integration across nursing education and continuing education, grounded in evidence‑based and innovative practice.

Karina Shreffler

OU Health Campus College of Nursing (PhD (Co‑PI))

Dr. Karina Shreffler leads evaluation and outcomes measurement related to workforce readiness, confidence, and adoption.

OU School of Computer Science

The University of Oklahoma School of Computer Science leads technical design and applied AI learning, developing sandboxed, non-clinical environments that allow nurses to engage with AI safely and ethically. Computer Science faculty collaborate closely with nursing leaders to translate AI concepts into accessible, practice-relevant learning experiences.

Ze Shi Li

OU School of Computer Science (PhD (Co‑PI))

Dr. Ze Shi Li leads development of the sandboxed AI learning environment and applied learning activities.

Sridhar Radhakrishnan

OU School of Computer Science (PhD (Co‑PI))

Dr. Sridhar Radhakrishnan leads development of the sandboxed AI learning environment and applied learning activities.

Sean Mackay

OU School of Computer Science (PhD (Co‑PI))

Dr. Sean Mackay leads nursing-first AI framework design, bringing expertise in computing education research and educational software development.

Together, these partners operate under a shared governance model coordinated by OCN, with regular cross-organizational collaboration to ensure the initiative remains nursing-first, ethically grounded, and scalable across healthcare and education systems.