When Collaborative Robots Meet the Bedside: Nurses Informing Emerging Artificial Intelligence Technology

Across the United States, clinicians working in the acute care hospital settings continue to face persistent workforce shortages. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare delivery, it is critical to explore technology-enabled solutions that reduce non-clinical workload without compromising care. At ChristianaCare, a nurse-led team of executive and clinical leaders, researchers, and informaticians, launched a three-year, grant funded collaborative robot (cobot) pilot program starting in 2022 to evaluate whether cobots could offload repetitive, time-consuming non-clinical tasks from staff. At the conclusion of the grant period in 2025, the findings demonstrated operational value in select high-volume workflows, such as non-urgent medication and equipment deliveries. However, the pilot also revealed that current cobot capabilities were unable to meaningfully augment nurses' complex and often time-sensitive patient care workflows. These findings underscore the need for engineers and scientists to partner closely with nurses and frontline hospital staff throughout the design and implementation processes to ensure AI powered cobots deliver high impact, workforce-supporting solutions. Additionally, healthcare leaders should not underestimate their role in facilitating these collaborations and removing organizational barriers that could influence operational success.