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ABSTRACT Background As robotics continues to be applied to medical and nursing practice, nurse educators need to be aware of innovations and discuss practice and challenges with students. Objectives This paper provides a literature review of the application of robotics in nursing and the implications for nurse education. Review methods The methodology adopted for this review was informed by the definition of service robots. The review focused on how clinical service robotics are being discussed in nursing and was undertaken using the Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect and ProQuest databases, using the truncated search terms: nurs* and robot*, education, students and future. Research articles were limited to those that were published in peer reviewed journals, between 2010 and 2019, since this covers the time when robotic science has been flourishing. The field of robotics is vast, thus the search yielded over 400 articles, but most are not specifically relevant to nursing. Twenty-six relevant papers were included. Results Thematic review of the literature found four main developments affecting nursing and mixed perceptions and ideas among health care staff and the public across varied themes. Conclusion Health care and nursing work are being transformed through robotics. New technologies, tasks and technician roles that currently do not exist will soon be part of the health workforce, and the nature of nursing work will inevitably change. In the light of such change, there is a need to redefine the nature and practice of nursing and to re-prioritise caring as fundamental to the nursing profession. These changes have implications for the education of future nursing professionals.