Elsevier Health launches Sherpath AI

Elsevier Health, a health information and data analytics company, has announced the commercial launch of Sherpath AI, a generative AI chat designed specifically for nursing students and faculty. Elsevier says Sherpath AI integrates its nursing education content, including multimedia videos, with advanced generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), helping nurse educators and supporting students in navigating course materials, preparing for exams and transitioning into clinical practice.

As a conversational AI tool, Sherpath AI gives nursing students access to relevant personalized content and helps them achieve success in courses and exams, added the publisher. Students can ask questions with natural language in the same way they would speak to a trusted expert. The tool generates personalized responses sourced solely from Elsevier’s collection of evidence-based nursing content. Sherpath AI offers AI-enhanced features, and nursing education content, including diverse multi-media tutorials like Osmosis for Nursing videos, across all Sherpath nursing courses. Citations and links to all content are included for easy access and illustrating accuracy and reliability. Interactive chat dialogue and personalized responses in the moment of learning create an individualized experience for students, while nurse educators are supported with tools to help with course preparation and teaching strategies, the publisher continued.

Elsevier Health says the use of AI in healthcare is expected to grow considerably in the coming years. In Elsevier’s Clinician of the Future 2024: AI Edition report, 96% of clinicians said AI will help accelerate knowledge discovery and 88% felt AI would help increase work quality. This enthusiasm is mirrored in healthcare education, with the Clinician of the Future: Education Edition report finding that 62% of students are excited by the prospect of using generative AI tools in their education, a figure that continues to rise.

Brent Gordon, president, Nursing & Health Education, Elsevier Health said: “By expanding personalized learning, Sherpath AI can extend the reach of higher-education institutions to train more practice-ready nurses, improve program outcomes, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. We’re grateful to the institutions, students and educators who have worked closely with us during the development of Sherpath AI – their feedback and insight have been instrumental in getting us to today’s launch, and we are so excited to have this groundbreaking learning solution available across the US.”

Sherpath AI has been tested by more than 1,000 educators and more than tens of thousands of students at Arizona State University, Chamberlain University and Miami-Dade College, as well as other institutions across the US and the feedback has been positive, added Elsevier Health.

Judith F. Karshmer, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, dean & professor, Arizona State University said: "At ASU, we are always looking for innovative ways to enhance student success and increase access to nursing education, and using Sherpath AI has shown the potential to help us to do both. Increasing capacity in nursing education is crucial to make sure we are able to address the shortfall of nurses in the US. By providing access to personalized, evidence-based content and engaging resources like Osmosis videos, Sherpath AI enhances both teaching and learning in ways we hadn't imagined. The ability to interact using natural language and receive instant, reliable answers has empowered our faculty and enriched our curriculum, while making complex concepts more accessible and understandable for our students."

Elsevier Health says Sherpath AI builds on Sherpath, its teaching and learning courseware platform that supports hundreds of thousands of nursing students across the US, preparing them for both the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) exam and clinical practice. The introduction of generative AI into its offerings aims to streamline access to trustworthy information, facilitating the education of the next generation of healthcare professionals. The publisher says its content and technology are always underpinned by its Responsible AI Principles and Privacy Principles, created in collaboration with its communities.