Teaching Nursing Students Effective Artificial Intelligence Prompt Engineering: The CARE Framework

Effective artificial intelligence (AI) prompting is essential for students to use AI to enhance critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills.

A framework for effective prompting, the CARE (Context, Action, Role, Expectation) Prompt Engineering Framework, was developed. This framework emphasizes the importance of maintaining the "human connection" in AI.

When students use AI, they use their skills to ask AI for information. Instructors should model responsible and effective AI-prompt engineering. Each CARE element is discussed with remedial prompting to ensure more effective output. AI outputs are verified and reviewed; the original context is revised with the desired changes; and follow-up actions are submitted.

The CARE framework provides a systematic outline for nurse educators to use in teaching students clinical decision-making skills, while also capturing the role-modeling behavior of faculty members to ensure that effective AI prompts are used.