Robots as Faculty: Student and Faculty Perceptions

BackgroundLittle is known about the feasibility of remote-presence robotics in nursing education. This study was designed to answer the question, How do nursing faculty and undergraduate nursing students describe the usefulness, effectiveness, and user friendliness of, and their satisfaction with, a remote-presence robot as a distance education technology for a simulated clinical experience?MethodThis exploratory, descriptive study used two researcher-developed surveys to assess faculty and student perceptions of the use of a robot in teaching nursing students in a distant laboratory experience.ResultsA high acceptance of the robot was reported by 82% of faculty (N = 10) and 87% of students (N = 82).ConclusionsResults of this study indicate that faculty and students feel positively about this technology as a teaching strategy, suggesting further exploration of its use in nursing education.