Nurses as Content Experts, Mentors, and Judges at Collaborative Innovation Sprints

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to reveal unique patient needs that require innovative problem-solving approaches. While a meeting of collaborative experts to solve problems is not novel, the formal inclusion of nurses as content experts at these types of events is less typical. To date, no reports of outcomes related to the inclusion of registered nurses (RNs) with any level of education and certification and in any role at an interprofessional hackathon are found in the extant literature. This article discusses participation of nurses as content experts in hackathon events, with information about principles of innovation, characteristics of innovators, hackathons, and the iterative process. We report methods, results, and include discussion about a descriptive survey study that considered perceptions of interprofessional participants in two hackathons held in 2020. Our analysis adds preliminary information about participants perceptions regarding collaboration with consulting nurses as content experts.

Nurses’ confidence in starting a new venture, startup or project in the context of nurse-led hackathons: Results of prehackathon survey

“…Based on prior literature, only a small number of nurses, who are SONSIEL members, have previously participated in health-related hackathons or ideation events such as MIT ( Koszalinski et al, 2021 ). While it was not specifically targeting nurses, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses’ expertise was recognized as valuable and was being sought after by various industries looking to help solve health care crisis ( Ayala et al, 2022 ; Braune et al, 2021 ).…”

“…While it was not specifically targeting nurses, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses’ expertise was recognized as valuable and was being sought after by various industries looking to help solve health care crisis ( Ayala et al, 2022 ; Braune et al, 2021 ). While others view nurses as content experts ( Koszalinski et al, 2021 ) and most trusted professionals ( Gallup Inc., 2020 ), nurses themselves may benefit from activities such as hackathons that help nurses recognize self-worth and build confidence. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, hackathons have become increasingly recognized as a valuable tool for removing barriers and allowing collaborative problem-solving, ideation, and innovation across disciplines.…”

Crowdsourcing to support training for public health: A scoping review

“…Studies in this review featured different crowdsourcing approaches to improve public health training. We found that these participatory approaches have supported training on a broad range of health topics, including environmental health [ 21 , 24 , 28 ], infectious diseases [ 11 , 25 , 54 , 55 , 60 , 69 , 70 , 74 , 75 , 84 ], and mental health [ 76 ]. This scoping review extends the literature on crowdsourcing to examine how it has been used to benefit public health training.…”

Patient Care Device Technology Transformation: Nurses Seek Partners to Achieve Patient Care Excellence

“…Partnership Systems "shift health care relationships from hierarchies of domination and isolated professions to high-functioning, collaborative teams ready to be full partners with patients, families, communities, and one another" (Center for Partnership Systems, 2023). While nursing innovation is finally starting to be encouraged, supported, and celebrated, it can only be harnessed to achieve excellence by engaging in partnerships with others involved in the patient care device and technology ecosystem (Matinolli et al, 2020;Swayze & Rich, 2011;Koszalinski et al, 2021;Giuliano & Landsman, 2022;Zhou et al, 2021).…”