The emerging future of healthcare simulation with artificial intelligence integration

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2026.04.019

Background: The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies into healthcare simulation is a transformative step toward reshaping health education. Simulation-based education (SBE), despite its benefits in health professions programs, remains constrained by significant logistical and financial burdens such as specialized physical infrastructure, mannequins, and standardized patients, limiting equitable access to high-quality simulation experiences. Innovation/or major points: GenAI emerges as a promising, scalable, and cost-effective solution to overcome persistent barriers in SBE. Widespread adoption of this technology promises to elevate the quality of health education and ultimately improve patient care outcomes. Implications: The integration of AI-driven simulation into nursing and health education can significantly augment instructional capacity and improve the fidelity and effectiveness of SBE. Nonetheless, successful adoption depends on a balanced evaluation of future opportunities, as well as ethical, technical, and educational constraints. Conclusions: With thoughtful, ethically grounded approaches, AI can support the humanitarian mission of health education and ensure that technological innovations contribute to the training of clinically competent and compassionate professionals.