As an ex-chief nurse, I undertook my Professional Doctorate in Nursing whilst working as a Clinical Associate and CCG-Registered Nurse.

The main topics covered in my Fellowship were technology, robotics, robots, nursing and the fundamentals of nursing, travelling to China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The purpose of my Fellowship was to explore what the future capability of robots might be and how robots might contribute to future nursing care.

As future healthcare provision faces a significant imbalance between need and resource, technology is often cited as part of the solution. Consequently, many countries have commissioned robotic programmes and I am keen that nurses have a voice on this topic and that this nursing voice is informed, articulate and offers recommendations for future nursing.

My Fellowship enabled me to explore future robotic capability with those at the leading edge of robotic development, and meet with nursing leaders to discuss how these developments might impact on the Fundamentals of Care (a framework for nursing based on relationship).

As a precursor to a qualitative research study, my Fellowship has been pivotal to my professional journey, which I hope will be a foundation stone for future nursing practice.