Will Nurses be Replaced by Robots

With the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, robots are set to take the place of human workers. This will happen across a variety of different sectors as they begin to not only fulfill manual jobs, but take on brain-powered roles as well. 

Yes — there are robots being produced that can learn tasks and many of them are out-performing their human counterparts in a number of fields. They are not subject to human error, they don’t get tired or lose concentration and they don’t cost nearly as much as humans to employ. This leads us to wonder, how will this affect the health sector? 

Could robots replace nurses? Can nurses future-proof their jobs to avoid losing them to AI, or will they inevitably face a march of the machines?

Nursing robots?

The development of artificial intelligence was predicted over a century ago by the early pioneers of the political economy. They thought that any given set of manual skills would eventually be replaced by machines for higher productivity and profits. It seems unlikely that robots will take over all the duties of a nurse within our lifetime. However, it is important to upgrade your skills in order to remain attractive for employers as machines begin to fulfill more tasks, and nurses are assigned new responsibilities in their place. 

Don’t believe us? The expanding role of robots is already underway. It will certainly impact the way our nurses and other healthcare professionals will be trained and employed in the near future. Robots have started taking over an increasing number of functions, ranging from simple jobs such as deliveries within a facility, to more complex ones like critical surgical operations. Robots – whether they’re being used in a delicate surgery or just to carry goods around the hospital – are here to stay.

Preparing the nursing workforce for the future

This trend will eventually present new challenges for healthcare professionals. It will also provide them with more space to reach new heights of professional excellence as they leave other tasks in the past. With our high tech future in mind, the education and on-the-job training of our nurses will be more important than in any other period in history.

If you’d like to position yourself as a forward thinking nurse, problem-solving skills are paramount. Challenge yourself to become someone who can use their knowledge and resourcefulness to solve problems creatively. Your ability to offer new solutions and ideas to your team will make you indispensable. Many robots are limited by their algorithms, and lack the creativity of a human being.

Robots can’t replace human emotions

Achieving a higher education will also help nurses maintain their roles within the healthcare system. But it’s when that’s combined with compassion, nurses can be unstoppable. Unlike robots, nurses can also react to the emotional contexts of the situations and  that they face. 

Receiving medical care can be an emotional experience, and a robot will never be able to feel or truly understand the emotions of others. Being able to understand the nuances of emotions and feel empathy allows nurses to better care for patients. Do you feel like you’ve let stress detract from the compassionate element of your care? Bring your focus back onto the patient and how you can help them feel better, not just get better.

Adapt and thrive in nursing

Nurses who can adapt to new environments, systems and methods are more prepared to take on these industry changes.

• Are you stuck in your old ways, or can you operate in a different way when presented with a new challenge?

• Are you able to get along with new team members and collaborate?

• Can you focus on your patients while also focusing on yourself?

Nurses who find these dilemmas hard to overcome can benefit greatly from travel nursing. Each contract brings along a new location, facility, team and way of doing things. As they face new experiences, travel nurses learn more about themselves while learning to adapt to new approaches. This promotes the kind of flexibility that will help them as technology changes the healthcare industry.

Every nurse that chooses to develop themselves, strive for higher education and training, solve problems creatively and emotionally connect with their patients offers something that a robot cannot. Nurses can leave the more basic tasks to AI machines, such as testing and medication dispensing, while they tackle more complex issues. This will not only help nurses offload some of their mundane tasks to a machine, it will give them enough space to care for more patients at a higher level. There is no need for nurses to worry about the security of their job when faced with the rise of technology. Be willing to grow professionally and become even better versions of the incredible healthcare providers that they are today.

Are you interested in future-proofing your career? Find a travel nursing position that works for you.