Open AccessA Call for Nurses to Embrace Their Innovative Spirit
Author(s) -
Celeste R. Knoff
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
online journal of issues in nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.457
H-Index - 41
ISSN - 1091-3734
DOI - 10.3912/ojin.vol24no01ppt48
Subject(s) - innovator , witness , process (computing) , health care , public relations , nursing , psychology , medicine , business , computer science , political science , law , entrepreneurship , finance , operating system
As frontline workers on the healthcare team, nurses are positioned to witness and identify challenges faced by patients and families, challenges that might otherwise go unnoticed or be under represented. Ideas for innovative solutions to such challenges are sometimes conceived as: “If only someone could make….,” or “If I were in charge, I would…,” or “We could make this better by ….” This article describes one such situation in which the heart-wrenching issue of suboptimal pediatric pain management was tackled with the creation of a timing device for use at home by parents caring for children with postoperative pain. The author begins this article by describing the background and idea for the innovation. Next the implementation of the innovation is presented and the process and choices for the innovator are described. The author concludes that nurses are well positioned to develop solutions to patient and family care problems and have a responsibility to do so.