Do you think Nurses will be replaced by technology one day?

ellaballet · May 18, 2014

If you were a patient in a hospital would you really want a robot putting a catheter in? I think unfortunately nurses being replaced more and more by UAPs might be a bigger possibility in the near future.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · May 18, 2014

Good day, giraffe4:

Almost anything is possible... but consider the areas where critical thinking is required... and the current state of artificial intelligence. Given such, we have a few generations before it becomes a concern employment wise.

Thank you.

christina731 · May 18, 2014

If you were a patient in a hospital would you really want a robot putting a catheter in? I think unfortunately nurses being replaced more and more by UAPs might be a bigger possibility in the near future.

I agree. This is what I worry about nursing. It seems as though UAP 's are taking over many of our tasks.

RunBabyRN · May 18, 2014

You can create a machine to do tasks, but it's very difficult to get one to look at a patient holistically and make assessments and judgment calls. That's where nurses will always have the "advantage". You can enter symptoms into a computer and have it spit something out, but that still doesn't mean it's an accurate assessment, and it just simply cannot take everything into consideration. Nurses offer a lot that machines/robots cannot.

giraffe4 · May 18, 2014

You can create a machine to do tasks, but it's very difficult to get one to look at a patient holistically and make assessments and judgment calls. That's where nurses will always have the "advantage". You can enter symptoms into a computer and have it spit something out, but that still doesn't mean it's an accurate assessment, and it just simply cannot take everything into consideration. Nurses offer a lot that machines/robots cannot.

Or can it? You can't rule out the possibility that may actually be able to assess. Like pmabraham said, it may take generations. But with how fast technology is advancing, you never know it could be possible.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 18, 2014

I had a friend who thought that way. I don't believe so. There are so many things that humans can do/are capable of that robots can't. I have never been concerned about losing my job to a robot. If robots advance that far, it won't be in my lifetime.

Episteme · May 18, 2014

Answer: NO

There could be machines that can do sophisticated assessments, and be programmed with algorithms on what to do when a certain complex of findings appear. They can do all sorts of things. But they cannot do the nursing process. Ask yourself... how many techno-geeks even have a clue what nurses do?

As for UAP's... if you're replaced by a bunch of them, it is on you. It will be because you didn't work in your state legislature and in your union contracts to get solid nurse: patient ratios.

Episteme · May 18, 2014

The only people who will fight for nurses are nurses. You're the next generation.

I hope you're as effective as we were...

Yes, we responded to the HMO debacle of the 1990's with solid research on patient care outcomes in facilities where UAP's predominated and where hospitals saved $$$ on the backs of their nursing staff.

My generation got rid of the horrible assembly-line-like "team nursing". One nurse in charge, one to give meds, one to do treatments... none who knew the patient fully.

I don't want to hear that fatalism and passivity. You are going to have to fight the tide of anti-nursing policies that are headed your way in the next 10-20 years.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · May 19, 2014

I don't know how old you are, but if you grew up with the cartoon The Jetsons, by the year 2000 we were all supposed to be living high up in the sky and driving flying vehicles and having robots do everything for us. Do I think some aspects will be replaced, yes. That has already started to occur. But you have to think of how absolutely fascinating the human mind is. It is truly the greatest computer. We have empathy. We can critically think in a way a machine cannot. Who wants a machine comforting them in their last few hours of life?

Also think of it this way, how many times do you call a company and a machine picks up. And it tells you to say 1. You say one but it doesn't recognize what you said. Now you are screaming and cursing into a phone at a computer that cannot understand what you are saying at all. So you hang up. Now you are truly dissatisfied with this company because all you wanted was to get your problem solved or talk to a human. No machine can ever replace what human have. Never.

RunBabyRN · May 19, 2014

I don't know how old you are, but if you grew up with the cartoon The Jetsons, by the year 2000 we were all supposed to be living high up in the sky and driving flying vehicles and having robots do everything for us. Do I think some aspects will be replaced, yes. That has already started to occur. But you have to think of how absolutely fascinating the human mind is. It is truly the greatest computer. We have empathy. We can critically think in a way a machine cannot. Who wants a machine comforting them in their last few hours of life?
Also think of it this way, how many times do you call a company and a machine picks up. And it tells you to say 1. You say one but it doesn't recognize what you said. Now you are screaming and cursing into a phone at a computer that cannot understand what you are saying at all. So you hang up. Now you are truly dissatisfied with this company because all you wanted was to get your problem solved or talk to a human. No machine can ever replace what human have. Never.

I love all of this!

Just think about all of the Back To the Future II parties that will be held next year! Flying cars and skateboards!! Woo hoo!

And YES to the voice prompts. THAT is who I want caring for my mother as she takes her last breath. As I say, "More dilaudid," and it says, "More dilantin." NOOOOO! Aarg!!! :madface:

HappyWife77, BSN, RN · May 19, 2014

Watch "NNU: Computer Care Ad (HD)" on YouTube

NNU: Computer Care Ad (HD):