The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education

The integration of digital health technologies, including robotics, is transforming healthcare environments and offering significant benefits, such as reducing the time professionals spend on non-direct patient care. However, despite these advantages, the adoption of robotic systems in healthcare remains limited. A major barrier is the lack of competencies and confidence among healthcare staff in using these technologies. We address this challenge by investigating how exposure to robotics technology can support the education of the future nursing workforce. By exploring nursing students' and educators' perceptions of usability and acceptability of robotics through a workshop, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exposing them to robotic technologies in a safe, simulated environment to start identifying how beneficial exposure for learning could be integrated into education priorities that will enable nurses to work effectively and sustainably alongside robotic systems.