VIEWPOINT: NURSES PREPARATION IN THE ERA OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

We are now experiencing an era of the fourth industrial revolution characterized by a fusion of disruptive technologies like cyber-physical systems, cloud technology, cognitive computing, robotic process, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, which impact every health care industry in both developing and developed countries, from being manpower-intensive to being technology-centric. The example of health care delivery model driven by technology changes today can be seen from our customers who often use online consultations to healthcare professionals to get the treatment (Milton, 2018). In some countries, for example, Japan has been developing various types of humanoid nursing robots for delivering nursing care (Tanioka et al., 2017), which poses a challenge for nurses around the world, and changes how we work, live and play. In addition, this era is considered as a threat for unskilled workers or new graduates who are at a high risk of being left unemployed. Therefore, we need to be able to prepare ourselves to establish the impacts on nursing practice and patient outcomes. This editorial is to highlight some points for nurse preparation in the fourth industrial revolution.