As AI adoption increases, so do its implications for the healthcare workforce. Yet, while most healthcare leaders believe AI will transform their industry, just 6% of healthcare executives have an AI strategy in place. Understandable, considering the unique challenges they face, first and foremost being how to maintain high quality of patient care while carefully integrating the improvements AI offers.
It’s a delicate balance, but there is a no-regrets plan that you can start implementing now.
Because the successful adoption of AI in healthcare settings will hinge on the understanding and trust of your workforce, the best starting point is AI skilling for healthcare professionals to build AI skills like literacy and other fundamentals — so that your workforce comes along for the AI-driven journey from day one.
Insight: Healthcare workforces today are underprepared for AI. Not only that, but the lack of exposure and understanding of AI tools is propagating an atmosphere of fear and nervousness.
Why this matters: Talent and people leaders in healthcare have a window of opportunity now to start upskilling their workforces ahead of AI adoption. Currently, the following is true among the healthcare workforce:
But with the critical voices of HR, L&D, and talent leaders at the table, advocating for healthcare workforces’ access to AI skilling, these stats will change for the better and transform fear of the unknown into excitement for improvements, like better patient outcomes.
If you catch yourself stalling in this moment: the cost of inaction
The pull to set a plan in motion is strong because the stakes are high. AI has the potential to unlock efficiencies, enhance care, and reduce administrative burden in the healthcare industry. And ignoring AI’s role in healthcare workforce planning can be just as costly as investing in the wrong AI tools. Not only that, but it can lead to missed opportunities for improved patient care, experience, and outcomes. Here’s what’s at stake:
If you’re ready to get going: the benefit of AI skilling
A proactive approach in healthcare is possible by focusing on the skills your clinical and nonclinical workforces will need to work alongside new technologies. This is a no-regrets move that will pave the way for what’s to come in AI-driven workforce planning.
It’s true that AI skilling needs will vary across roles in healthcare organizations, but having a basic understanding of how AI skills might be deployed across job levels, regardless of the role, can ensure skilling investments are grounded in employees’ day-to-day experiences.
Guild continues to innovate with learning partners to develop accessible AI skilling bundles to help healthcare organizations get started on building critical AI skills for roles spanning entry-level through healthcare leadership, including:
AI Fundamentals: Focuses on AI literacy, ethics, and implications
AI in Practice: Teaches how to understand and use AI tools
AI Expertise: Covers building and scaling AI technologies for technical employees
AI for Leaders: Instructs on creating and implementing strategies for AI for healthcare leaders
As AI automation and augmentation empower more healthcare professionals to focus less on administrative tasks and more on their areas of expertise, durable skills (the human skills that underpin patient-centric care, like problem solving, active listening, and communication) will also see a sharp increase in demand.
Down the road: AI-driven evolution needs the right data and analysis
The major unlock that healthcare organizations can expect down the road is AI-powered insights and data to guide healthcare workforce planning. Specifically, this will mean identifying which roles will evolve as a result of AI, quantifying the impact, and making thoughtful reskilling and upskilling decisions. Expect to see AI tools that can:
Enable healthcare workforce planning through data-driven decision-making — Focus any upskilling investments on areas of highest impact to maximize value.
Make customized and actionable recommendations for learning — Pinpoint AI- and automation-driven skills gaps and implement tailored learning pathways to integrate AI into the flow of work for both clinical and nonclinical roles.
Drive operational efficiency and cost savings — Focus skilling investments on areas that will evolve and augment activities across your organization, including automating administrative tasks and supporting clinical decision-making.
Ensure education benefits align with future-ready skills — Connect clinical and nonclinical roles with innovative learning programs, designed for their job type, to help them learn relevant AI skills and advance durable skills like critical thinking.
Foster continuous learning — Ensure employees have the opportunity to keep pace with new skills aligned with the organization’s needs and internal mobility.
Business functions that use AI are realizing revenue increases
There’s a lot of focus on ways AI can help cut down on costs. However, organizations that are taking a more strategic approach to AI adoption within their workforces are also seeing a positive impact on revenue.
The future of healthcare is AI-driven — and people-powered.
For leaders in healthcare, AI-driven workforce planning stretches far out into the future, to be sure, but it can start today with access to AI skilling — laying the groundwork for AI to be deployed broadly across healthcare organizations. This move now will enable momentum and trust when it matters most down the road.
Being part of the conversation early will help leaders ensure the right decisions are made about AI tools, skills investments, strategic workforce deployment, and how labor is reallocated. One thing’s for sure — you won’t regret getting started sooner rather than later.
Ready to see what AI-driven workforce transformation can look like for your organization?
Connect with one of our experts to see how Guild can support your skilling initiatives, ensuring your organization is prepared for an AI-driven future. Schedule a call →