Will nursing professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Nursing professors score 46 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 45%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 16% outright, and 39% stays with people.
- 16% AI can do it
- 45% AI helps
- 39% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 65% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 29 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 14 and leaves 11 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI compiles bibliographies quickly; instructor verifies sources. | 75% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI drafts syllabi, assignments, and handouts well; instructor reviews. | 70% AI can do it |
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Attendance and grade records are routine digital data entry. | 70% AI can do it |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and grades exams; instructor reviews and approves. | 65% AI can do it |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health care practices. AI drafts lecture content and slides; instructor delivers and adapts. | 50% AI helps |
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI aids literature review, analysis, and drafting; researcher leads. | 50% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections and budgets; investigator shapes strategy. | 50% AI helps |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory and clinic work, assignments, and papers. AI grades written work and quizzes, but clinical performance needs observation. | 45% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction. AI helps draft and analyze curriculum changes; faculty decide. | 45% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI summarizes literature; reading, networking, and conferences stay human. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 19 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Assess clinical education needs and patient and client teaching needs using a variety of methods. AI can draft needs assessments and surveys; teacher interprets results. | 35% AI helps |
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment. AI helps research and compare materials; purchasing involves people. | 35% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Admin paperwork can be automated; recruiting events need people. | 35% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. AI supplies curriculum and career information; advising stays personal. | 30% AI helps |
| Coordinate training programs with area universities, clinics, hospitals, health agencies, or vocational schools. AI can draft agreements and schedules; partner relationships stay human. | 30% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Paperwork and reports can be drafted; leadership stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. AI supports analysis and reports; expert advice remains human. | 30% AI helps |
| Conduct faculty performance evaluations. AI can draft review documents; evaluative judgement stays with people. | 25% AI helps |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collaboration is mainly interpersonal discussion and joint decisions. | 20% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee deliberation and voting are human; AI summarizes papers. | 20% Needs a person |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Supervising students is mainly personal guidance and feedback. | 20% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live moderation of discussion needs real-time human engagement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Face-to-face student office hours need live human presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Mentor junior and adjunct faculty members. Mentoring relies on personal relationship and tacit professional judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Supervise students' laboratory and clinical work. Live supervision of students in labs and clinical units. | 10% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Advising student organizations is in-person and relationship based. | 10% Needs a person |
| Demonstrate patient care in clinical units of hospitals. Hands-on patient care demonstration in clinical settings. | 5% Needs a person |
| Maintain a clinical practice. Ongoing hands-on patient care in clinical practice. | 5% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Requires physical presence at campus and community events. | 5% Needs a person |
How nursing professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $80,250 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 77,960 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +17.1% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Build course materials in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
- Review AI-drafted exams and syllabi in Learning management system LMS
- Supervise live clinical rotations on MEDITECH and hospital units
- Hold an active clinical practice as a registered nurse
- Lead research and publish in peer reviewed nursing journals
- Moderate live classroom discussion and case-based simulation debriefs
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about nursing professors and AI
Will AI replace nursing professors?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly compiling bibliographies and preparing course materials such as syllabi and handouts. Maintaining attendance and grade records is also largely routine data entry. Teaching at the bedside, supervising students in clinical units, and leading discussion stay with people.
Which tasks are AI taking over for nursing professors?
Bibliography compilation scores 75 on exposure and is marked for automation, because AI assembles source lists quickly and the instructor only verifies them. Syllabus, assignment, and handout drafting scores 70, so AI produces the first draft and the instructor reviews it. Exam drafting and grading, scoring 65, follows the same pattern.
Which nursing professor tasks stay human?
Demonstrating patient care in hospital units and maintaining a clinical practice both score 5 on exposure, since they need hands on work with real patients. Supervising lab and clinical work scores 10, because instructors watch students perform care in person. Live discussion moderation scores 15 and needs real time engagement.
How can nursing professors stay valuable as AI takes on routine work?
Spend time on the tasks that need a person in the room. Keep an active clinical practice so your bedside skills stay current. Use your review time on AI drafts in Learning management system LMS and Microsoft Word to correct clinical accuracy. Put the hours saved into live supervision and research publication.
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