HIMSS26 Workshop Empowers Nurses as Digital Care Designers
The healthcare industry stands at a critical crossroads where artificial intelligence integration demands thoughtful human oversight. Dr. Sigal Shafran Tikva, director of the research and innovation center in nursing at Hadassah University Medical Center and head of the master’s program in health informatics at the Jerusalem College of Technology, is spearheading a transformative approach to AI implementation in clinical settings through her upcoming workshop at the 2026 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exposition.
Reimagining Nurses’ Role in AI Development
Traditional approaches to healthcare technology implementation often position nurses as passive end users rather than active designers. This workshop challenges that paradigm by placing nurses at the center of AI decision-making processes. In March 2026, healthcare professionals will gather in Las Vegas to participate in an interactive session that fundamentally reframes how artificial intelligence tools are conceptualized, designed, and integrated into patient care workflows.
The session, titled “Designing Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence: A Nurse-Led Call to Action,” will bring together interdisciplinary teams to work with real, de-identified clinical scenarios where AI already plays a role. Participants will examine existing technologies including dashboards, chatbots, documentation assistants, and clinical alerts, evaluating whether these tools genuinely support healthcare delivery or create additional burdens.
Interactive Co-Design Methodology
Dr. Shafran Tikva explains the workshop’s unique approach: “Imagine stepping into a room where nurses are not being taught AI – they are using their lived experience to redesign it.” Small interdisciplinary groups will collaborate using a guided co-design template, making critical decisions about which functions should remain human-centered, which tasks AI can appropriately assist with, and which processes need deliberate re-humanization after excessive automation.
This hands-on methodology moves beyond theoretical discussions, enabling participants to pause what Dr. Shafran Tikva calls the “default future” of AI implementation. Instead of accepting technology as-is, teams will redesign AI-supported workflows to prioritize clinical judgment, compassion, and patient safety while eliminating unnecessary noise and friction in care delivery.
Why Nurse Leadership Matters in AI Integration
Nurses serve as the continuous human interface within healthcare systems, witnessing every workaround, identifying broken processes, and observing emotional micro-moments that data models cannot capture. When AI systems are developed without meaningful nurse participation in decision-making, the results are predictable: technically functional tools that miss practical realities, misaligned task distribution, alert fatigue, eroded trust, and technology that increases administrative burden rather than creating capacity for patient care.
“Positioning nurses only as end users is an unsafe innovation,” Dr. Shafran Tikva emphasizes. When nurses participate actively in creation and decision-making processes, AI systems become more ethical, trustworthy, and genuinely human-centered. This involvement ensures that artificial intelligence supports clinical judgment rather than attempting to replace it, and amplifies compassion rather than diminishing it from healthcare workflows.
Practical Takeaways for Healthcare Organizations
Workshop attendees will gain a repeatable methodology for mapping AI-supported workflows, identifying clinical and emotional pain points, and redesigning human-machine task distribution. The rapid co-design template helps teams prioritize unmet needs, clarify where AI can safely provide assistance, and spotlight both high-impact risks and opportunities in nurse-AI collaboration.
Participants will co-create a comprehensive “Top 10 Unmet Needs in AI-Enhanced Care” brief during the session. This actionable document can be presented internally within organizations, shared with technology vendors, or used to initiate workflow redesign projects with clinical teams. The goal extends beyond thought-provoking discussion—attendees will leave equipped to lead human-centered AI conversations within their own institutions.
Addressing the Digital Health Innovation Gap
The healthcare technology landscape continues expanding rapidly, yet implementation often outpaces thoughtful integration. This workshop addresses a critical gap: ensuring that those with the deepest understanding of patient care and clinical environments shape the tools meant to support their work. Nurses possess unparalleled insights into care delivery nuances that cannot be replicated through data analysis alone.
By involving nurses as essential decision-makers in AI development, healthcare organizations can design systems that enhance efficiency while maintaining the empathetic, judgment-based elements that define quality patient care. This collaborative approach prevents the common pitfall of implementing technically sophisticated solutions that fail to address real-world clinical needs.
Session Details and Registration Information
Dr. Sigal Shafran Tikva’s HIMSS26 session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in San Polo 3501A, Level 3 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Healthcare professionals interested in human-centered digital health innovation, clinical workflow optimization, and nurse-led technology design are encouraged to attend this interactive workshop that promises to reshape conversations about AI integration in patient care settings.
