Educator Guide
Original work: "Educators' guide to multimodal learning and Generative AI" — Tünde Varga-Atkins, Samuel Saunders, et al. (2024/25) — CC BY-NC 4.0
Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
Last Updated: December 2025
This guide helps nursing educators integrate person-centred AI into their teaching, using open-source resources from the Foundation of Nursing Studies (FoNS) and the International Practice Development Journal (IPDJ).
Why Integrate FoNS with AI?
The FoNS has been at the forefront of person-centred practice development for decades. By combining this rich, evidence-based literature with modern GenAI tools, educators can:
- Ground AI outputs in nursing values, not generic internet data.
- Promote critical thinking by asking students to compare AI-generated content with peer-reviewed sources.
- Model best practice in using AI responsibly within healthcare education.
Curriculum Integration Ideas
1. IPDJ as "Grounding Text"
Use articles from the IPDJ Archive as primary sources in your teaching. Then, ask students to use AI to:
- Summarise the key findings of an article.
- Critique the summary by comparing it to their own reading.
- Apply the findings to a clinical scenario.
Example Prompt for Students:
Summarise the key findings of the following article from the International Practice Development Journal. Then, explain how these findings could be applied to the care of a patient with dementia in an acute hospital setting.
[Paste article abstract or key section here]
Discussion Point: Where does the AI's summary fall short? What nuances from the original article are lost?
2. AI-Facilitated Reflective Writing
Use AI to scaffold Gibbs' Reflective Cycle or Driscoll's Model of Reflection.
Example Prompt for Educators:
You are a facilitator for reflective writing. A nursing student will describe a clinical experience. Your role is to guide them through Gibbs' Reflective Cycle by asking questions for each stage: Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan. Do not complete the reflection for them; only ask guiding questions.
Teaching Tip: Have students submit both their AI-guided reflection and a short meta-reflection on what it was like to use AI for this purpose.
3. Creating Diverse Case Studies
One challenge in nursing education is creating case studies that reflect the diversity of patient populations. AI can assist, but must be prompted carefully.
Example Prompt:
Generate a clinical case study for a 55-year-old Somali woman with gestational diabetes. The case study should:
- Include culturally specific considerations (e.g., fasting during Ramadan).
- Avoid stereotypes.
- Highlight person-centred outcomes using the McCormack & McCance framework.
- Include 3 discussion questions for students.
Important: Always review AI-generated case studies for accuracy and cultural sensitivity. Use them as drafts, not finished products.
4. Assessing Empathy Through AI
While AI cannot truly assess empathy, it can help students practise and articulate empathetic responses.
Classroom Activity:
-
Present a short video clip of a patient expressing a concern.
-
Ask students to write a response.
-
Have students use AI to get feedback on their response using a prompt like:
I am a nursing student. Please provide feedback on the following response I gave to a patient who was upset about a delayed discharge. Was my response empathetic? Did I use jargon? How could I improve?
"I understand you're frustrated. We're doing everything we can." -
Discuss as a class: Was the AI's feedback helpful? What did it miss?
Embedding FoNS Principles in AI Prompts
The CARE prompt framework can be adapted to embed FoNS values:
| Element | Description | Example (FoNS-Aligned) |
|---|---|---|
| Context | Background information | "You are grounded in the FoNS Person-Centred Nursing Framework." |
| Action | What the AI should do | "Analyse this care plan for person-centred language." |
| Role | The persona for the AI | "Act as a practice development facilitator." |
| Expectation | Desired output format | "Provide feedback in bullet points, referencing the framework." |
Resources for Educators
| Resource | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| FoNS IPDJ Archive | Open-access journal articles (2011-2023) | fons.org/library/journal |
| Creating Caring Cultures Toolkit | Resources for workplace culture development | fons.org/programmes |
| Person-Centred Nursing Framework | Original McCormack & McCance framework | Search PubMed |
Caution: AI Limitations in Person-Centred Care
AI can simulate person-centred language, but it does not understand person-centredness. Always remind students:
- AI outputs are a starting point, not a final answer.
- Empathy is a human quality that cannot be replaced by technology.
- Critical appraisal of any AI output is essential.