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Article Title:	Robots Are Great - But They Can't Empathise!
Author of reported comment:	Ann Johnstone
Comment Date:	00:07 on Feb 22 2017
Comment:	Having worked for years as an agency nurse, across the whole spectrum of nursing practice, and from neonatal to aged care, I can already hear alarm bells ringing. On the one hand, most areas within the health profession are low-staffed, and existing staff are therefore pushed for time. This means that contact time with patients is limited. Added to this, nursing training these days takes place in the classroom, where teaching is geared towards a degree in nursing. Practical experience usually consists of working under supervision over the Christmas holiday break (if you're lucky) and is both limited and narrow in scope. Added to this is the heavy workload of existing nursing staff, where patient contact is often impersonal and limited to the giving of medications, the carrying out of routine medical procedures, and administration of hygiene. Already there is a serious lack of empathy and human touch involved. In fact, having a meaningful conversation with a patient is often frowned upon. If robots are introduced, workloads of staff may well be reduced, but it is highly doubtful that any time saved would be spent with patients. When you are seriously ill, simple things such as a listening ear, meaningful touch and expressions of empathy carry enormous significance. No robot is able to deliver these as effectively as a caring human being. Certainly medical robots can ease the burden on staff by carrying out rote tasks of all kinds. But we need to leave the caring and empathy to those who understand and empathize, just because they are human.

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