Florida State University has taken the lead on a national scale with a new nursing degree based on what has been the talk of the town in higher education — artificial intelligence (AI).
The College of Nursing at FSU recently launched the country’s first master’s of science in nursing degree with an AI Applications in Health Care concentration, which combines the emerging technology with health care to expand digital health initiatives into clinical benefits for patients.
“AI is rapidly expanding into every facet of our lives, and health care is no exception,” FSU’s College of Nursing Dean Jing Wang said in a prepared statement. “We are seeing hospitals and clinics begin to implement artificial intelligence, and our master’s program will create a new generation of nursing professionals ready to navigate and leverage these innovative skills and knowledge.”
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The first-of-its-kind AI concentration is one of two concentrations in the new graduate program, with the other being nursing education. FSU opened applications in September and closed them in October for the program’s first spring 2025 class, which will have a cohort of 35 students, according to a university spokesperson.
In addition, the new program will be offered to students as an online graduate program, and its launch is part of the College of Nursing’s 2023-2028 “Boldly Rising Strategic Plan.”
While Al — an emerging technology where machines are programmed to learn, reason and perform in a way that imitates human intelligence — is being implemented into FSU’s new nursing program, the university is also currently working on a policy that gives faculty guidance on how to navigate its use in the classroom.
The new degree offering also comes during the Florida Board of Governors push to drive nursing education in order to address the ongoing nursing shortage in the state.
In February, the State University System in Florida announced a record high of 1,800 nursing graduates from SUS nursing programs with the help of the state’s $46 million investment through the Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education (PIPELINE) and the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) funds.
Also, the Board of Governors said a couple weeks ago that all universities in the SUS with nursing programs will be receiving LINE funds for the first time since the inception of the funding to help address the shortage.
As FSU works on getting future nursing leaders ready for the health care field with an understanding of emerging technologies, the AI-based degree will also tackle ways to implement the technology in a safe and ethical manner, according to the university.
“We are leading in the state of Florida and nationally in digital health and health care innovation,” Wang said in a university release. “I look forward to the future collaborations this unprecedented MSN program brings us.”
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
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