What Is the Level of Nursing Informatics Competency of ChatGPT?

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
• Health Information Technology

Background:

• Nurses require strong informatics competency to effectively use AI-powered hospital systems.
• ChatGPT, trained on vast health data, is increasingly popular and presents potential for nursing education.
• The informatics competency of ChatGPT itself has not been previously assessed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the informatics competency level of ChatGPT.
• To compare ChatGPT's competency against established benchmarks, such as graduate students.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Self-Assessment of Informatics Competency Scale to measure ChatGPT's proficiency.
• Assessed performance across various informatics competency subdomains.

Main Results:

• ChatGPT demonstrated an overall informatics competency level between 'somewhat competent' and 'competent'.
• This level was found to be lower than that of graduate students in nursing informatics programs.
• ChatGPT exhibited competency levels comparable to graduate students in the 'applied computer skills (clinical informatics)' subdomain.

Conclusions:

• While ChatGPT shows potential for supporting healthcare practitioners and researchers, its current informatics competency requires further development.
• The integration of AI technologies like ChatGPT in nursing necessitates a balanced consideration of both benefits and risks.
• Ongoing evaluation is crucial as nursing continues to advance and incorporate AI.