Julian Faulkner, a long-standing professor in the Practical Nursing program at Georgian College, has always focused on preparing students for the realities of the healthcare world. Her Pharmacology course, like much of nursing education, has a lot of content to learn and is demanding—filled with concepts that require both memorization and deep critical thinking. 

Innovating Pedagogy with GenAI

Julian hadn’t initially planned to incorporate AI into her Pharmacology class. But everything changed after a simple advising conversation with two students—both using ChatGPT in very different ways.

During one of Julian's regular advising meetings she asked one student, who was excelling in the course, how she was studying?  The student explained that she followed Julian’s instructions:

• Completed course pack questions using the textbook
• Reviewed the PowerPoint notes 
• BUT took it a step further - she used ChatGPT to generate study summaries, find drug class themes, and even convert notes into audio files to listen to during her commute 

This student wasn’t skipping steps—she was using AI to deepen and personalize her learning, creating a multimodal study routine that helped her retain complex information.

Meanwhile, a second student—who was struggling with Pharmacology—revealed she had asked ChatGPT to directly answer the course pack questions and then studied from its responses, assuming they were accurate. They weren’t. 

For example:  

Course pack question asks: "State the nursing assessments for mood-stabilizing drugs". The AI gave back lots of information, including "Hydration Status: Dehydration can increase lithium toxicity risk...and lab levels of lithium should be checked". However the textbook provides the following [summarized information] - the nurse must check lab levels of sodium and hydration status as dehydration and hyponatremia increase the risk for lithium toxicity. This would make a difference when trying to answer an exam question and why Julian encourages critical thinking in her classes.

Julian encouraged the student to return to using the textbook first and then use AI to organize the information. Her grade improved by 15% on the next test.

“AI can be a powerful tool - but just like anything in healthcare, it requires judgement, accuracy, and critical thinking.” 

- Julian Faulkner

What Julian Learned About AI—and Her Students

That moment sparked a shift in Julian’s thinking. It had never occurred to her that students might try to use AI as a shortcut—bypassing learning instead of enhancing it. And yet, in both cases, students were engaging with the same tool, with vastly different results.

The difference wasn’t the technology. It was how it was used.

And that’s where Julian saw an opportunity—not just to accept AI in her classroom, but to teach it. 

Now she's intentional about:

• Embedding AI literacy into her instruction
• Teaching students how to verify AI-generated content
• Helping students distinguish between using AI to enhance learning vs. using it to bypass learning

Julian doesn’t see AI as a threat to assessment integrity—she sees it as an opportunity to reinforce critical thinking and ethical responsibility in the classroom.

She also teaches students that in healthcare, where accuracy matters, they can’t afford to blindly trust a tool—whether it’s a digital assistant or a drug dosage chart. Developing a critical mindset is just as important as learning the content.

A New Teaching Frontier

Julian’s story is a powerful reminder that students are already using AI—and faculty have a crucial role to play in guiding that use.

By embracing AI as a teaching tool, Julian didn’t lose control of her classroom. She gained new ways to connect with her students and support their learning. She turned what could have been a threat to academic integrity into an opportunity for growth and innovation.

As more faculty at Georgian explore GenAI tools, Julian’s story reminds us that the most important thing isn’t being perfect with AI—it’s being open to learning with it.
 

Written by: Julian Faulkner, Kelly Fox, Amy Goruk and Ashley Priest. Inspiration provided by Co-Pilot and ChatGPT.

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📧 Contact us at ctl@georgiancollege.ca to get started.
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