Can robots improve a doctor’s empathy?

The simulation centre looks and feels like a real hospital with a maternity ward and operating room, but not all of its patients are human.

Some are modern, hi-tech training dummies, capable of simulating facial expressions and emotional states, as well as the symptoms of ailments.

The robotic simulations are thought to improve medical and nursing students’ critical thinking and communication skills, as well as preparing them for the empathetic component of healthcare.

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reports from New York.