Each week at Scrubs, we highlight two “must read” news items that catch our eye. Here is this week’s version of “Good news/Bad news” for nurses…
Good news:
As multiple sources have reported, a large nursing shortage is expected in the coming years. This is good news to future nurses, as well as those who will be looking for a new nursing job in the years to come. But, this also brings us to the bad news…
Bad news:
Toyota Motor Corp. has announced a solution to the nursing shortage: robots. The company says that their line of nursing robots are being designed to help return sick and injured people to health while lessening the burden on their caregivers. A diverse line of robots will serve different functions, in fact, with some helping with domestic chores and others assisting patients with walking. Toyota says the robots should be on the market by 2013.
What do you think? Can robots possibly replace nurses?
Source:
money.cnn.com
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
I bet that robots will just add to someone’s workload versus decreasing it …
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
Just wait until a robot drops a patient. We’ll have our jobs back.
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
No way will robots ever amount to human nurses. At least we have the ability to be compassionate towards others. Robots don’t have feelings.
RN
Registered Nurse
Yeah, right. I want to see a robot turn and reposition my over 80 yo pt’s —and oops–clean, change, and apply butt cream to them!!! That would be priceless. (Since it is a fact that the great majority of our hospital pt’s are over 78 yo.) Come on….show me!
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
It may work for a little bit. But robots can never have compassion like real nurses. What is a nurse without compassion? When the patients realize that we’ll be back.