Robots in Nursing Education: What the Future Holds

Is there a place for robots in nursing education? This was the question Debi Sampsel, RN, executive director, Nursing Institute of West Central Ohio, and Carol A. Holdcraft, DNS, RN, assistant dean, College of Nursing and Health at Wright State University, posed during a recent seminar hosted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

They brought in RP-7, a robot that can perform case studies, review charts and provide long distant family care visits. It is similar to a video phone where students, nurses and doctors can view and discuss what’s going on miles, if not time zones, away. All that is needed is an Internet connection.

According to Garfield Jones, Vice President of InTouch Health®, the company that manufactures and provides support for RP-7, there are currently 200 RP-7 robots in the world. Their function is not to replace nurses; rather, extend the limited resources that are currently available. For example, robots like RP-7 are being used in small, rural hospitals where a specialist is not available; one can be contacted and view the situation without ever leaving their hospital for an instant consultation. It is also being used as an educational tool for training nursing students and in the military hospitals.

But how responsive would the nursing community be to robots in their field? Dr. Sampsel and Dr. Holdcraft conducted a survey where nursing students and faculty interacted with RP-7 by receiving clinical instructions and training scenarios. There was a high acceptance for RP-7 by both faculty and students for use of the robot as an acceptable form of technology for teaching nursing courses. Future study questions have been developed to learn more about its capability, including if expert faculty can use RP-7 as a teaching mentor to novice faculty and teaching assistants. NCSBN Council Connector