Role reconstruction and competency requirements of emergency nurses in the human-machine collaborative mode: a qualitative study

Objective: This study aims to explore the role reconstruction characteristics and capability requirements of emergency nurses in the human-computer collaboration mode, providing experience and reference for improving the quality of nursing. Methods: A phenomenological qualitative research method was adopted. Nurses from the emergency departments of two tertiary hospitals in Shanghai from October 2025 to January 2026 were selected as the research subjects for semi-structured interviews, and the Colaizzi seven-step analysis method was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 22 emergency department nurses participated in this study, and 3 major themes and 8 sub-themes were extracted. (1) Nurses' cognition and attitude towards the human-machine collaboration model; (2) The role transformation of emergency nurses; (3) Nurse competency requirements. Conclusion: The results of this study clarify the role transformation and capability requirements of emergency nurses in human-machine collaboration, providing practical significance for clinical training, role boundary definition, workflow optimization and policy formulation, thereby promoting the standardized, safe and sustainable application of human-machine collaboration in emergency care.