Robots are everywhere, from robot movies to real-life applications like robotic surgery. The truth is that technology applied to the service of the human being is becoming increasingly common, to the point that it is used in many facets of hospital and medical services. Technology has advanced to being part of the services provided by hospitals: screens are used for customer service, nurses use digital applications to find the highest paying PRN jobs, robots are used to help take blood pressure, applications are used to avoid common dosage errors, etc. But robotics sounds like a fictional movie, where humanoid assistants are dedicated to performing tasks that people usually do, and sometimes they even perform them better than humans. But could robots replace nursing functions? Indeed, for many of the more straightforward tasks that do not require much critical thinking, many robots are already in use. Still, robots can also be seen entering jobs requiring a degree of sociability and artificial emotional intelligence not previously thought possible.
Patient Care Medical Robots Applications
Healthcare robotics has enabled robots to monitor patients' vital signs more accurately than humans and warn of worrisome changes or spikes in measurements. It is also possible to support nurses and laboratorians in taking blood by stimulating the patient's arm and identifying where the main veins are located, thus becoming a great help in all medical settings.
During the pandemic and after it, sanitizing robots were also obtained for different sanitary spaces, which were cleaned and disinfected without the risk of infecting themselves with the virus. This is a massive advantage for nurses who sometimes have to choose between treating patients and keeping their family members safe from infection.
There are also microbots, which are miniature robots (sometimes smaller than a cell or the size of a few cells) that can help cure diseases inside the human body itself. These technologies are closer to being achieved than we imagine, with experiments being conducted throughout 2022.
Robots have also appeared in other patient care spaces, especially robots that provide companionship to the most isolated patients. These robots use artificial intelligence to hear and mimic human reactions to any problems patients discuss with them. To understand the need for these robots, it must be understood that the recent nursing shortage intensified by the worldwide pandemic has left most healthcare personnel intensely stressed to provide the best possible care to their patients, not always being able to be present to listen to the emotional problems they may have. In Canada, there is a center for the elderly that is applying a robot in its care that attentively listens to patients. Many of these older adults comment that they do not have people to visit them and that this robot has made them feel emotionally connected and entertained, stimulating a change in their daily routine. Since many elderly patients need careful attention, especially to cope with loneliness, such robots are a fun, entertaining, and exciting innovation for them.
Some robots simulate body parts and support some parts of the patient's body, called exoskeletons. This type of robotics has provided new life to body parts that patients could no longer move or had lost and brought hope to hundreds of patients around the country.
There are also robots applied to robotic surgery, in which robots are used for delicate surgical procedures or that support the surgical and sterilization process in some way, making the system faster or more effective.
Robots and Nurses in Patient Care
As explained, robots are starting to become part of personalized patient care, with positive results and reactions from patients who feel they are in good hands with robots supporting their treatment. Technological innovation is revolutionizing the entire healthcare industry and, if successful, could be a new way of doing healthcare by 2023, with patients regularly seeing robots as part of their hospital floors.
As the number of nurses decreases and the world's population increases, a safe nurse-to-patient ratio is almost impossible in hospitals. Thus the nurse shortage becomes dangerous for public health. This is why robots attending to different nursing care functions help to make this ratio safer and return the quality of care and patient safety that all patients deserve in hospitals. Robots can be seen on hospital floors supporting food delivery, practicing their listening skills, calculating drug dosages, and facilitating the life of all existing doctors and nurses. Nurses welcome this help and support it with open arms, as they are often a help rather than a replacement and valuable help in their own right.
