DENVER — At Metro State University Denver’s nursing school, students aren’t just learning from textbooks. They’re using artificial intelligence and simulation labs to practice real-world nursing before they ever treat a real patient.
“We have some sims that are around more communication, and they can practice communication. They can practice how they're going to interact with patients and get those skills-based under them before they go out into the real clinical settings,” said Dr. Jenny Allert, MSU Denver nursing department chair & professor.
It’s one reason nursing school student Goose Feick chose this program.
“Not only are we practicing our nursing skills in medicine, how to give care, but also how to speak and be with patients and patient families,” said Goose Feick, a Denver nursing school student.
The simulation labs, Dr. Jenny Allert, the MSU Denver nursing department chair and professor, says, have helped students tremendously.
“I graduated from nursing school 25 years ago, and I wish I had had some labs,” said Dr. Allert. “Being able to walk in here and us, let them make decisions and then make mistakes, and then learn from their mistakes and practice things where there is no risk of harm.”
AI technology is also used in the program, reacting to students' choices.
“I have the students get a report on a patient and make decisions, and when they make decisions, they get an update on what's going on with their patients,” said Dr. Allert. “So, each group will end up with different scenarios at the end based on the decisions they're making.”
Dr. Allert tells Denver7 that AI helps her build case studies in a fraction of the time.
“It used to take me 15 hours to build an unfolding case study. AI now allows me to do that in 30 minutes,” said Dr. Allert.
Though she emphasizes it's just a tool, not a replacement. Students are taught to question AI and rely on clinical judgement.
“You're the one at the bedside, you're the one who's going to have to decide if this information is good or bad,” said Dr. Allert.
And as nursing shortages grow nationwide, MSU Denver is expanding simulation use across more classes.
“Our next growth is community health, population health, and we're going to start those sims in the fall,” said Dr. Allert.
Hospitals in Colorado are already using AI. In January 2025, Denver7 spoke with Denver Health about their partnership with artificial intelligence company Nabla to help physicians focus more on patient care and less on paperwork.
Doctors and other medical professionals now use the Nabla program on their phones during patient interaction. It records the conversation, transcribes it, and organizes it into a format familiar to doctors.
Later, the audio recording and the full transcription are deleted to protect patient confidentiality. Only the summary and organized notes are kept.
According to Nabla, for every hour spent with patients, doctors typically spend two hours writing notes and insurance information.
Medical professionals have seen an increase in ‘pajama time’ in recent years. That is, they are taking more work home.
