New Voices RGU Student Series 2026 – Jack Welch
Category: RGU Student Series 2026
In the 2026 New Voices Student Series, the CILIPS Students & New Professionals Community will be sharing the views of Robert Gordon University students from the MSc in Information and Library Studies.
With special thanks to Dr Konstantina Martzoukou, Teaching Excellence Fellow and Associate Professor, for organising these thought-provoking contributions.
Working as a Library Assistant at Dorset County Hospital, Jack Welch has undertaken an MSc in Information and Library Studies alongside his full-time role to develop the skills and knowledge that are essential to librarianship. Jack has a strong personal interest in advocating for better accessibility and quality of life for neurodivergent people, where he somehow finds the time to support public involvement in research and charity campaigns. He also loves reading, watching live theatre and musicals and train travel (if it’s running as planned!)
The Path to Train AI Never Runs Smoothly
From the experience of assisting colleagues over the years in a healthcare library, one of the most immediate challenges which could both revolutionise and threaten the workforce is the rapid pace and necessity to facilitate Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy. In 2019, the Topol Review set the scene of how digital advancements reshape the way the NHS operates over the coming decades, including the integration of AI.
One significant recommendation made it clear that “Employers must ensure that support for staff to develop and enhance digital literacy is built into training programmes, career pathways and placements” (Topol, et al., 2019, p. 81). Who provides such ‘support’? How can digital literacy meet the shapeshifting nature on what is permissible with AI across a breadth of professions? To effectively utilise resources like Generative AI (GenAI) and equip the NHS workforce with the right capabilities, Knowledge and Library Services (KLS) across the NHS need to be on the front foot.
Understanding the Tools
Figure 1: Examples of AI in clinical and non-clinical practice. Source: NHS MIAA
As one common cliché that should be heeded for these ambitious projects of change, to ‘walk before you can run’ must be at the forefront of understanding the basics of using GenAI in common tasks. For the NHS organisation I work in, Copilot is the designated resource of choice (in large part because it is embedded across the Microsoft, or MS, packages). Regardless, Copilot is already playing an implicit role in many of our activities on current MS systems, whether we might be conscious of this or not. In essence, the guidance from NHS.net (2025) underpins these core boundaries to maintain an ethical and confident application with GenAI:
- Decision making – While Copilot can help us resolve the quandaries for other applications (looking at Excel here!), it is not a substitute for clinical decision making to put into effect for patient care.
- Sensitive data – Good information governance, better referred as data protection, inputting patient data, internal staff investigations or anything that can identify individuals should not be received by third-parties, which encompasses GenAI.
- Bias – It may be easy to accept the word of a tool that has the knowledge scope of the internet, AI is produced by humans and like humans, it can have its own assertions that influence our decisions. Scrutinising for references and fact-checking remains a human responsibility.
Although this does not represent the most exciting opportunities for AI, like 3D printing or cures to diseases, it is KLS professionals, according to Hopkins, Smith and Wood (2024), who are in a strong position to educate the importance of AI literacy from copyright to academic integrity.
Making the Everyday Easier
Across the workforce, it is imperative any training addresses the potential of natural language processing, also known as AI Scribes, which can be tasked to save administration processes to record and transcribe text, benefitting primary care (e.g. GP services) particularly. At first glance, giving doctors more time with patients and focus on their needs, which works to a similar effect for nursing staff, can transform clinical care. However, as one report produced by the British Medical Association (2025) pointed out, less admin can be substituted for more patients to be seen, reducing the meaningful contact and empathy which is essential in moments of distress for patients. In such instances, removing the human out of the equation is just not a viable solution.
Figure 2: The potential of AI in changing patient outcomes – taken at the Bletchley Park exhibition ‘The Age of AI’. Source: Personal photo
Bluntly speaking, time saving does not always translate into better care, and it is for us in reminding our colleagues that AI is no substitute for a human hand.
The Way Forward
In most instances of the evidence published, there is a cautious welcome of AI to transform how we work, without exactly being a ringing endorsement. The NHS 10-year plan may want us to harness its power (UK Government, 2025), but fundamental to this are the stepping stones first that ensure there is a digital literate workforce in place first. That is the challenge that our profession must live up to.
Further Reading
A select bibliography has been curated on Padlet for additional content on the implications of AI and healthcare, which can be accessed by clicking here.
References
Topol, E. et al. (2019) The Topol Review – Preparing the healthcare workforce to deliver the digital future. Department for Health and Social Care.
NHS.net (2025) M365 Copilot and M365 Copilot Chat (Web) Acceptable Use Policy. Available at: https://comms-mat.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Comms-Archive/M365+Copilot+Acceptable+Use+Policy+v1.1.pdf (Accessed: 19 November 2025).
Hopkins, E., Smith, S. and Wood, H. (2024) ‘Adoption and everyday use of artificial intelligence by NHS knowledge and library professionals in England’, Journal of EAHIL, 20(2), pp. 6–10. Available at: https://doi.org/10.32384/jeahil20618.
British Medical Association (2024) Principles for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its application in healthcare. Available at: https://www.bma.org.uk/media/njgfbmnn/bma-principles-for-artificial-intelligence-ai-and-its-application-in-healthcare.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com. (Accessed: 24 November 2025)
UK Government (2025) Fit for the Future – 10 Year Health Plan for England. UK Government.
NHS MIAA (2025) AI Basics – Your First Steps. MIAA