Healthcare Professional Development (HPD) refers to the continuous enhancement of healthcare professionals’ knowledge, skills and clinical competencies to improve the quality of care and promote public health. Effective professional training must be contextually relevant, aligning with the learner’s work environment and practical needs, to cultivate practitioners capable of integrating theory and practice (Pueyo-Garrigues et al., 2019). The International Federation of Robotics (2024) reported that 6200 medical robots were sold worldwide in 2023, representing a 36 % year-on-year increase. HPD requires more systematic training and assessment frameworks to address the learning demands and governance challenges associated with the integration of robotic technologies.

Robots are increasingly viewed as essential tools in medical services, facilitating interaction and collaboration with healthcare workers across various functions (Bedaf et al., 2019). While robotic applications in surgery have received substantial attention for their ability to reduce trauma and enhance precision (European Robotic Surgery Consensus (ERSC) study group, 2025, Qian et al., 2020, Rahimi et al., 2024), their use in other domains remains comparatively underexplored.

Outside the operating room, robots have been employed in multiple healthcare contexts, including neurorehabilitation (Ármannsdóttir et al., 2020), telemedicine (Dorsey and Topol, 2016), logistical support (Volland et al., 2017), infection control (Dancer, 2023) and clinical procedure simulation (Moreau et al., 2011). In HPD, soft skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, empathy and communication are recognized as core competencies in healthcare systems. Prior reviews suggest that artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robots can support the development of these competencies (Simou, 2025). Empathy, team communication and decision making may be fostered through social and telepresence robots via standardized interaction and process rehearsal (Park and Whang, 2022, Scott et al., 2020). In addition, robots have the potential to enhance critical thinking and clinical reasoning through scenario-based triggering, feedback and reflection (Liaw et al., 2023). Consequently, investigating robotic technologies in HPD addresses essential competency development needs.

Given this gap, a comprehensive synthesis of the trends, applications and pedagogical implications of non-surgical HPD robots is both timely and necessary. Although robots have been widely studied in language and science education, their role in medical and healthcare education is comparatively less understood (Wang et al., 2024). This study therefore adopted a comprehensive technological education framework to systematically explore the applications and effects of HPD robots outside of surgery. In particular, the evolving landscape of human-robot interaction (HRI), including real-time feedback and adaptive support, warrants closer examination as these mechanisms may significantly influence training outcomes.

To this end, the present study conducted a systematic literature review to analyze the current state and emerging trends of HPD robots outside of surgical fields. The following research questions guided the investigation:

RQ1: What are the publication trends and country distributions of research on HPD robots outside of surgical fields?

RQ2: Where medical specialties are HPD robots applied outside of surgical fields?

RQ3: What is the distribution of research participants and sample sizes in these studies?

RQ4: What types of HPD robots are used outside of surgical fields?

RQ5: What research and data collection methods are employed in these studies?

RQ6: What learning roles do HPD robots support outside of surgical fields?

RQ7: What are the primary research issues explored in these studies?

RQ8: What are the characteristics of human-robot interaction in HPD robots outside of surgical fields?