Nursing Leaders Embrace AI to Augment Clinical Care

Nurse informaticists focus on governing intelligence, not just managing technology

Feb. 23, 2026 at 3:20pm

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As AI becomes more embedded in clinical workflows, nursing leaders are clear that AI will not replace clinicians. However, clinicians who know how to use AI and leaders who know how to govern it will have a distinct advantage. Nursing informatics leaders are focused on ensuring AI serves as a clinical adjunct, filtering out administrative noise so clinicians can focus on patients rather than screens. This requires detailed workflow analysis, mapping future-state processes with measurable outcomes, and close attention to 'dependent inputs' to ensure the data feeding AI systems is correct and validated.

Why it matters

With the increasing use of AI in healthcare, nursing leaders recognize the need to develop AI literacy and governance to ensure the technology augments clinical judgment and patient care, rather than replacing clinicians or eroding professional autonomy. By taking a proactive, clinician-led approach to AI implementation and oversight, nursing informatics teams can harness the benefits of AI while maintaining high standards of patient safety and care quality.

The details

Nursing informatics leaders at Summa Health, Cook County Health, and Roper St. Francis Healthcare are focused on building AI literacy and governance frameworks to support the effective use of AI in clinical settings. This includes detailed workflow analysis, defining measurable outcomes, validating data inputs, and retaining clinician oversight and final interpretive authority over AI-generated outputs. The goal is to ensure AI serves as a clinical adjunct, reducing administrative burden and elevating meaningful clinical signals, rather than replacing clinicians or undermining professional judgment.

  • AI has become increasingly embedded in clinical workflows in recent years.

The players

Marc Benoy

BSN, RN, CNIO at Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health, who sees the role of AI-savvy nursing leadership shifting beyond traditional IT oversight to governing intelligence.

Benjamin Laughton

DNP, RN, CNIO at Chicago-based Cook County Health, who emphasizes the need to understand AI as a broad set of technologies rather than a single tool, and to focus on augmentation rather than automation.

Jared Houck

BSN, RN, CNIO at Charleston, S.C.-based Roper St. Francis Healthcare, who advocates for 'disciplined curiosity paired with operational rigor' in governing AI-enabled capabilities.

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What they’re saying

“AI-savvy nursing leadership today is still defined by digital stewardship. It is the transition from simply managing technology to governing intelligence.”

— Marc Benoy, BSN, RN, CNIO

“AI is not a single tool or 'thing.' It is a broad set of technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing and computer vision.”

— Benjamin Laughton, DNP, RN, CNIO

“When done well, AI does not replace clinical judgment. It augments it by reducing cognitive load, elevating meaningful clinical signals and reinforcing high reliability across complex care environments.”

— Jared Houck, BSN, RN, CNIO

The takeaway

Nursing leaders are proactively developing AI literacy and governance frameworks to ensure the technology augments clinical judgment and patient care, rather than replacing clinicians or undermining professional autonomy. By taking a clinician-led approach to AI implementation and oversight, nursing informatics teams can harness the benefits of AI while maintaining high standards of patient safety and care quality.