The role of robots in the improving work of nurses

Introduction. Currently we observe a change in the labor market. It is caused by the new developments in the field of artificial Intelligence.

Aim. We would like to present current trends affecting the work of nurses and midwives around the world in order to raise the social awareness of these changes among Polish healthcare workers. Moreover, we want to emphasize the fact that it is necessary to involve them as the stakeholders in the ongoing discussions and research projects in order to better understand their needs and expectations.

Discussion. The article revolves around the current state of technology. We begin by outlining the framework of the perceived changes in the nurses’ structures and tasks around the world. Then we provide the examples of a variety of robots already executing those tasks. We start with the robots whose purpose is the elimination of simple, routine activities such as TUG or HOMER. After doing so, we move on to possible solutions how to eliminate the need for personal involvement in invasive (such as BloodBot) and non-invasive procedures (CLARA). We finish by introducing the machines used to replicate animal therapy, which can be used to treat patients who have difficulties with communicating their needs.

Conclusions. We would like to present the future of nursing closely related to machines. We want to emphasize the element of complementarity of this relation and the fact that performing some tasks by robots is not connected with replacing people, but rather with enabling them to shift their focus from the performance of arduous duties to spending more time on empathic work with the patient.