Many people are skeptical—or at least cautious—about the potential uses of artificial intelligence (AI).
How will this technology impact society? Will AI make my job obsolete? Jacqueline Johnston, PhD ’18, understands these concerns, but she also sees its positive potential. That’s why she’s working to introduce a new AI software program in Adelphi’s College of Nursing and Public Health (CNPH) that will greatly enhance the interactive nature of nursing education.
The Birth of an Innovative Idea
Dr. Johnston first came up with this idea in October 2024 while using Google Notebook—software that she and fellow CNPH faculty regularly use in the classroom. Faculty members upload case studies to Google Notebook, which creates a podcast or a conversation between two different bots that discuss the case study. Students then listen to the entire scenario and conversation to better understand the case study. While using Google Notebook one day, she had the thought, “What if I could talk back to these bots and have a conversation? What if I could make it more interactive?”
She first ran this idea by her colleagues Edwin-Nikko Kabigting, PhD, and Kattiria Gonzalez, PhD, CNPH assistant professors, who immediately saw its value. In February 2025, they brought the concept to Adelphi’s Innovation Center, which regularly hosts presentations, discussions and workshops about AI on topics ranging from the theoretical foundations to its impact on business and society. Lee Stemkoski, PhD, professor and chair of mathematics and computer science and director of the Innovation Center, took a look at CNPH’s idea and confirmed that his team would be able to create this challenging software.
Using AI to Enhance Communication Skills
So what is this software exactly? What does it do? It’s a training program and an interactive platform that uses AI to replicate real-world conversations for undergraduate and graduate nursing students. The software will allow students to converse with an AI bot that’s been programmed to respond emotionally to the student, like a real person, in a specific scenario.
The first scenario or topic to be implemented into this program is “End-of-Life Care,” which covers sensitive topics like talking to families about end-of-life options and signing do not resuscitate orders.
“It can be very traumatic for students and nurses to have these conversations,” Dr. Johnston explained. “This program will allow students to practice those types of discussions before experiencing them with real people, where sensitive issues have to be addressed.” During these conversations, students will be able to correct themselves and try different approaches based on the bot’s emotional response. This provides students with a safe environment to make mistakes—and also a space to learn from them.
The AI bot is also programmed with a rubric, a measuring system that scores students in their interactions. At the end of the conversation, the bot will provide a rubric on how the student performed during their conversations. But Dr. Johnston was sure to stress that “It’s about the experience, not the grade, with this program.”
While this AI program will be for all nursing students, it will also incorporate diversity and inclusivity into its functionality, which remains an important goal of Adelphi University. This software will include bots that can speak multiple languages and address different cultural issues, allowing the program to train students to communicate with diverse patient populations, applying cultural, religious and ethnicity factors to each scenario.
The Future of AI and This Program
Dr. Stemkoski and the Innovation Center are currently building out the theoretical model of this software with “End-of-Life Care” as the pilot program, available on one computer to start. Dr. Johnston hopes that, one day, they’ll be able to expand this program into an entire dedicated lab, a space where students can interact with AI bots on multiple computers with microphones and headphones.
Dr. Johnston also hopes to expand the program with other important but often sensitive topics, such as “Suicidal Ideation” and “Substance Abuse Disorders,” teaching students how to address these patients and talk to them about seeking care and treatment. “As healthcare professionals, we don’t get to practice stuff like this,” said Dr. Johnston. “We can really only practice with a patient. By putting students in this environment with a bot, we’ll enhance their communication skills and give them different environments to be exposed to.”
As far as Dr. Johnston knows, no other nursing college in the United States is using AI in quite this way.
“When we have access to a powerful tool such as AI, we must commit to using it responsibly,” said Dr. Stemkoski. “We are fortunate to have so many faculty at Adelphi University doing exactly this—exploring ways to use AI to enhance student learning and prepare them to take on the challenges of the future.”