Use of ChatGPT among Student Nurses in Baguio City, Philippines: A Cross-sectional Study

ChatGPT, an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) platform developed by OpenAI, is increasingly used in nursing education and practice. However, limited studies have explored its use among student nurses and how factors such as sex and year level affect its adoption. Addressing this gap is essential to ensure the responsible integration of AI and preserve nursing competencies, such as critical thinking and problem-solving. This study aimed to determine the extent of ChatGPT use among student nurses, including differences between sexes and year level, as well as the factors that facilitate or hinder its use.

This quantitative descriptive study involved student nurses from Saint Louis University, Baguio City, selected through proportionate random sampling in February 2024. Participants were aged 18 years or older, enrolled in the 2023-2024 academic year, and had prior experience using ChatGPT. The researchers administered a 30-item self-developed questionnaire, which demonstrated strong content validity (CVI = 0.92) and reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.85). Researchers used weighted mean to measure the extent of ChatGPT use, two-sample t-tests, and ANOVA to evaluate significant differences by sex and year level, and frequency and percentage to identify the most common factors that facilitate and hinder its use. All analyses were conducted using Jamovi version 2.4.

Student nurses (N = 300) reported a slightly extensive use of ChatGPT (x̄w = 2.40), with quick response time (x̄ = 2.85) and concise summarization of key concepts (x̄ = 2.85) as the main reasons for use. There were no significant differences in use between sexes (p = 0.761) or year levels (p = 0.062). The most frequently reported facilitating factors were ease of use (66.67%) and ability to generate useful answers (50.33%), while the main hindrances were long user queues (45.33%) and lack of references (45%).

The adoption of ChatGPT among student nurses is driven by its ease of use, perceived usefulness, and quality of responses, as reflected in participants' moderate to slightly extensive use for summarizing concepts, generating ideas, and obtaining explanations. In light of these findings, nursing programs should incorporate ChatGPT as a supportive learning resource while guiding its responsible use. Future research should ensure balanced gender representation, consider demographic factors such as age and technological proficiency, and explore ChatGPT's applications across disciplines using qualitative or mixed-methods approaches.