Platform Selection Criteria

Attribution

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)

When evaluating an AI tool, use these three lenses to check it supports safe, effective nursing education.

1. Pedagogical Capability

🎓

Clinical Accuracy

• Medical Knowledge: Does it provide accurate nursing theory and pathophysiology?
• Tone: Can it simulate empathetic, professional patient interactions?

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Reasoning Depth

• Complexity: Can it handle "What if?" scenarios requiring clinical judgment?
• Multimodal: Does it support text, image, or audio as needed?

2. Technical & Sustainable

⚙️

Infrastructure

• Access: SSO integration, mobile app availability?
• Stability: Reliable during peak exam/workshop times?
• Integration: API support for existing VLEs?

🌱

Sustainability

• Cost: Predictable pricing models for academia?
• Green AI: Does the provider publish energy, carbon and water data, and have a credible net-zero plan? (See Cost to the Environment.)
• Scale: Supports 200+ concurrent students?

3. Ethical & Legal Standards

NMC Code Compliance

Nursing education tools must adhere to professional standards.

🛡️ Data Security

• UK GDPR: Where is data processed, and is there a lawful basis and safeguards for any transfer outside the UK? Has a Data Protection Impact Assessment been done?
• Training: Is student or staff data used to train the model? (Should be "No" for institutional use.)
• Retention: How long are prompts and files kept, and can they be deleted?
• IP: Who owns the output?

⚖️ Fairness & Bias

• Diversity: Does it handle diverse patient demographics correctly?
• Transparency: Is it clear when content is AI-generated?
• Accessibility: Does it work with screen readers and meet WCAG 2.2 AA? UK universities have duties under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Evaluation Checklist

Quick Scan for Educators

Before introducing a tool, confirm:

✅ Accuracy: Tested on complex topics?

✅ Security: Meets privacy verification?

✅ Accessibility: Usable by all students?

✅ Professionalism: Aligns with NMC Code?

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Next: Learn about Institutional Considerations for deployment.