Today, Google is launching its first health program on Coursera, the Google AI for Healthcare Professionals Certificate. The new program is designed to help healthcare professionals responsibly and confidently use AI in their daily work. This marks an exciting expansion, given the tremendous opportunities at the intersection of AI and healthcare.
Healthcare professionals are already adopting AI. More than 80% of physicians reported using AI professionally this year, yet 92% said they want more education and training on how to use it, according to the American Medical Association. Meanwhile, a National Nursing Workforce Survey found that nearly one in three registered nurses cited unsustainable workloads as a key reason for planning to leave or retire. AI could help free up time by streamlining nonclinical administrative tasks.
Google’s under five-hour, self-paced certificate teaches practical AI skills for everyday healthcare workflows. Built and taught by clinicians at Google, the learning program keeps patient privacy, safety, and human judgement front and center. The certificate builds on Google’s broader commitment to improving healthcare through medical AI research, tools for consumers and healthcare organizations, and clinician education.
“As I’ve traveled around the world this year, I’ve heard loud and clear from healthcare professionals about the urgent need for a practical, thoughtful AI learning resource built specifically for healthcare. Having worked deeply in AI and in healthcare for years, my team and I wanted to share what we’ve learned with the broader community—and this certificate lets us do exactly that,” said Michael Howell, MD, MPH, Chief Health Officer, Google.
Across four courses, healthcare professionals will learn how to:
- Use AI responsibly in healthcare: Identify tasks AI can safely support, evaluate outputs using clinical judgment, and protect patient privacy.
- Strengthen patient communication: Translate complex medical concepts into clear, patient-friendly summaries and educational materials.
- Save time on nonclinical administrative tasks: Extract action items from email chains, organize complex schedules, and turn clinical documents into convenient audio briefings.
- Stay current and continue learning: Summarize medical research, prepare Journal Club presentations, and accelerate continuing education and board exam prep.
In further support of continuing education for healthcare professionals, this activity has been approved for up to 5.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
We must ensure healthcare professionals have the skills to translate AI’s potential into meaningful benefits. Together with Google, we’re expanding access to trusted AI training, empowering healthcare professionals to streamline daily workflows, communicate more effectively with patients, and accelerate their continuous learning. This gives them more time to focus on what matters most: helping patients.
