Nursing academics fear GenAI overreliance undermines critical thinking, knowledge translation and graduates' readiness for safe clinical practice¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Participants expressed apprehension that inappropriate GenAI use could hinder students' ability to translate theoretical knowledge into safe practice. → Dabkowski 2026 q2 i? Participants worried that reliance on GenAI might erode students' sense of responsibility for foundational knowledge such as patient assessment. → Dabkowski 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Dabkowski 2026¶

Dabkowski, Elissa; Missen, Karen; Allen, Louise; Whitehead, Dean; Worn, Ryan. (2026). 'Co-pilot won't teach you to be a nurse': nursing academics' perspectives on GenAI use in undergraduate education. International Journal for Educational Integrity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-026-00220-2

q2 · i? · qualitative · r3

Theme Two minor theme on overreliance, from the interview study. One participant asked, "If using AI in assessment tasks to generate answers for caring for a deteriorating patient, how will the student develop skills?"

"Participants expressed apprehension that the inappropriate use of GenAI could hinder students' ability to translate theoretical knowledge into safe and competent practice."

Dabkowski 2026 (2)¶

Dabkowski, Elissa; Missen, Karen; Allen, Louise; Whitehead, Dean; Worn, Ryan. (2026). 'Co-pilot won't teach you to be a nurse': nursing academics' perspectives on GenAI use in undergraduate education. International Journal for Educational Integrity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-026-00220-2

q2 · i? · qualitative · r3

Participant quote (P15) in the overreliance theme. Another participant warned of "a big cohort of students that are just not going to be fit for practice" in three to five years' time.

"I would definitely have concerns with students potentially not thinking that there's base knowledge that they need to know, especially around patient assessment"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Higher reliance on AI tools is correlated with lower critical-thinking performance, mediated by cognitive offloading — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Nursing academics hold divergent attitudes toward GenAI, from scepticism to pragmatic acceptance, and worry it may replace rather than support student learning — a broader claim this one bears on
• Nursing academics link student GenAI misconduct to future unprofessional and unsafe clinical conduct — related
• Nursing students and faculty report concerns that AI use may weaken critical thinking, enable plagiarism and misinformation, and create unequal access — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Faculty members and students anticipate AI will transform education and professions, sharing concerns that excessive dependence could weaken cognitive skills — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Academic integrity, professional development, and equity concerns about AI span all surveyed units, though interpreted differently — related
• Teachers raise big-picture concerns about GenAI including surveillance, over-reliance, reduced teacher collaboration, job replacement, and training needs — related
• Faculty concerns centered on academic integrity (80%) and student over-reliance on AI (70%), and their most requested development topic was AI ethics and academic integrity (70%) — related
• Teachers report concerns about infrastructure, reliability, age appropriateness, teacher competence, and student over-reliance on AI — related
• Qualitative findings identified plagiarism, student overreliance on AI, and a barrier of reconciling institutional policy gaps with personal ethical values — related
• University academic staff express substantial concerns about academic integrity, ethics, and erosion of skills such as critical thinking and creativity in relation to GenAI. — a broader claim this one bears on
• Over-reliance on GAI risks weakening teaching and social presence and depriving students of foundational skill development — a broader claim this one bears on
• Learning Quality & Cognitive Dependency discourse is heavily faculty-driven (Fac% 82.3), concentrated in K-12 and professor communities — related
• In higher education, the purported Silicon Valley revolution is undermined by detrimental effects on academic integrity and erosion of evidence-based pedagogical practices, compounded by the prevailing crisis of higher education — related
• Substituting tasks with generative AI may promote inclusion and free time for more demanding activities, but risks foundational-skill loss and presupposes prior knowledge — related
• Teachers express concern that student overreliance on AI may degrade independent thinking and hands-on scientific skills — related
• Among 245 Indonesian undergraduates, majorities reported concern about reduced critical thinking when depending on AI (75%), excessive reliance (73%), misinformation (70%) and unintentional plagiarism (69%), and 40% about algorithmic bias — related
• Inadequate evidence synthesis skills left nearly 70% of pharmacy students and practitioners reporting lack of confidence in applying evidence in patient care — related
• Stakeholder communities differ sharply in GenAI discourse focus: K-12 teachers foreground cognitive dependency, academics detection, professional students career anxiety — related