As AI becomes increasingly present across healthcare settings, gaps are emerging in the roll-out of new initiatives.
Nurses are most often underrepresented in organizational decision-making around AI, according to Elsevier’s “Clinician of the Future 2026” report, released May 13.
The survey evaluated responses from 2,575 clinicians across 118 countries, including physicians and nurses.
Here are six takeaways from the report:
1. Forty-one percent of nurses say their views are rarely or never reflected in AI decision-making.
2. Just 19% of physicians feel nurses’ views are not reflected, indicating a potential dissonance in clinical teams.
3. Across the board, 61% of clinicians are seeing more patients and 56% are struggling to keep up with medical and technological advances.
4. When not using clinical-specific tools, clinicians rely instead on publicly available, general AI tools that are consistently rated lower for reliability, authoritativeness and safety.
5. Eighty percent said that AI will become a critical assistant within the next decade, and nearly as many (79%) believe AI skills will be essential for clinician training.
6. Despite this future outlook, confidence waivers, with 68% reporting insufficient AI training, and 60% lack confidence in AI governance and oversight – raising concerns about trust and reliability.
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