Authors
Mehmet Uysal, Onur İşbulan, Ayşen Demirel
Published in
Nurse education today. Volume 169. Pages 107479. Oct 18, 2026. Epub Oct 18, 2026.
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, yet AI anxiety remains a significant barrier to its adoption.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Medical AI Readiness and AI Anxiety among nursing students and to determine the mediating role of AI Literacy in this relationship.
A descriptive, cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with a convenience sample of 302 undergraduate nursing students at a university in Istanbul, Türkiye. Data were collected using the Medical Artificial Intelligence Readiness Scale (MAIRS), Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale (AILS), and Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale (AIAS), and analyzed using the Hayes PROCESS macro (Model 4).
The findings revealed a "Paradox of Preparedness," where Medical AI Readiness was a significant positive predictor of AI Anxiety (B = 0.435, p < .001). Contrary to theoretical expectations that competence mitigates fear, students with higher readiness and literacy levels reported higher anxiety, with AI Literacy partially mediating this relationship (Indirect effect: B = 0.119, 95% CI [0.034, 0.218]).
These results theoretically suggest that students may experience a state of "perceived incompetence," where self-reported literacy grants awareness of AI's risks without the corresponding perceived technical skills to manage them. Consequently, nursing curricula must transition from passive AI awareness to active empowerment, integrating human-in-the-loop ethics and hands-on technical training to build professional confidence.
PMID:
42913365
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Oct 2026.
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