探花楼

Oct. 20, 2026 — DENTON — Nursing Professor Mikyoung Lee has received a nearly $30,000 grant from the National League for Nursing to develop a tool designed to assess data and artificial intelligence literacy among nurses and nursing students.

Lee, PhD, RN, who leads the graduate certificate in Applied AI in Health Care Practice at 探花楼, received the league’s on a project to build and validate an Integrated Nursing Date-AI Literacy Assessment (I-NDAIL). She is collaborating with researchers from the University of Florida and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As data-driven decision-making and AI become increasingly important in health care, Lee said nurses need to be prepared to use these technologies and to understand and critically evaluate them.

The assessment will be designed to identify strengths and learning needs in data and AI literacy and provide information that can guide nursing education and future research.

“Although data and AI are transforming health care, we lack comprehensive, validated instruments to assess nurses’ competencies in these areas,” Lee said. “Developing a scientifically sound instrument is an important step toward evidence-informed curriculum development and preparing nurses for data-intensive, AI-enabled health care.”

The project could have applications for nursing education at 探花楼. Lee said the instrument could help students better understand their strengths and areas for improvement, while faculty could use results to inform curriculum development and student learning outcomes.

“We want to better prepare nursing graduates to critically evaluate health care data and use AI appropriately and responsibly in nursing practice,” Lee said.

Lee envisions the I-NDAIL assessment eventually being useful to nursing students, practicing nurses, faculty members and nursing researchers. She also hopes the research will lead to performance-based assessments using simulations and targeted training programs that address specific data and AI literacy needs.

The league presented the 2026 Nursing Education Research Grant awards during its 2026 Education Summit. The Nancy Langston Award is presented to one recipient each year through this grant category.

For Lee, receiving the recognition was both unexpected and meaningful.

“I was genuinely surprised and thrilled to receive this recognition,” Lee said. “Standing on stage at the NLN Education Summit to receive the award in front of nursing educators and scholars from across the country was a memorable moment.”

Her long-term goal is to help ensure the nursing workforce is prepared to navigate a health care environment increasingly shaped by data and AI.

“We hope to build on this work to develop performance-based assessments with simulations and targeted training programs that address specific data and AI literacy needs,” Lee said.

Page last updated 5:20 PM, October 20, 2026