Can nurses remain relevant in a technologically advanced future?

Abstract

Technological breakthroughs occur at an ever-increasing rate thereby revolutionizing human health and wellness care. Technological advancements have drastically changed the structure and organization of the healthcare industry. McKinsey Global Institute estimates that 800 million workers worldwide could be replaced by robots by the year 2030. There is already a robotic revolution happening in healthcare wherein robots have made tasks and procedures more efficient and safer. Locsin and Ito has addressed the threat to nursing practice with human nurses being replaced by humanoid robots. Routine nursing care dictated solely by prescribed procedures and accomplishment of nursing tasks would be best performed by machines. With the future practice of nursing in a technologically advanced future transcending the implementation of nursing actions to achieve predictable outcomes, how can human nurses remain relevant as practitioners of nursing? Nurses should be involved in deciding which aspects of their practice can be delegated to technology. Nurses should oversee the introduction of automated technology and artificial intelligence ensuring their practice to be more about the universal aspects of human care continuing under a novel system. Nursing education and nursing research will change to encompass a differentiated demand for professional nursing practice with, and not for, robots in healthcare.

The role of robots in the improving work of nurses

“…In their opinion, these routine tasks should be replaced by robots. Moreover, they believe that the profession of nurse can be threatened if a robot is built and marketed to imitate human movements, with artificial intelligence capable of making clinical decisions [24].…”

“…W ich opinii te rutynowe zadania powinny zastąpić roboty. Co więcej, uważają oni, iż zawód pielęgniarki może być zagrożony w przypadku zbudowania i wprowadzenia na rynek usług medycznych robota, który będzie naśladował ruchy człowieka, dysponował sztuczną inteligencją, zdolną do podejmowania decyzji klinicznych [24].…”

Caring for Older Persons in a Technologically Advanced Nursing Future

“…Healthcare technology serves as tools and guideposts for caring [12]. As nurses integrate emerging technologies in their practice, nurses need to consider technological advancement as promising solutions to meeting the healthcare needs of older persons [13].…”

“…Gerontologic nurses of the future need to integrate emerging technologies in their practice, education, and research. To ensure that the technology would be responsive to the needs of older persons, nurses need to be involved in its development [13]. For nurses to remain relevant in a technologically advanced future, nurses need to ensure the evidence-based delivery of care through the use of technologies.…”

The Intermediary Roles of Public Health Nurses (PHNs) in Utilizing Communication Robots (CRs) in Community Health Care Practice

“…The field of nursing that uses advanced technology in practice has not been well developed and cannot be compared with other fields regarding its impact on the use of artificial intelligence in the commercialized industry [19].…”