Nurses Are Geniuses
Recently I attended the National Nurses in Business Association. Each year they have a “shark tank” competition, like the TV show, and this year was the best so far. I can’t believe these business and product ideas created by these amazing nurses.
Gwen Jewell is a wound care nurse and founder of jewellnursingsolutions.com. She created a product which, unlike foam wedges, actually does a much better job at reducing pressure on vulnerable areas.
Lori Forneris, co-owner of Nurse Expert Consultants, wants to create an app to improve communications among staff members. I love how nurses are getting on the tech train.
Yordis Morrison is founder and CEO of Nurses Off The Clock, LLC. When her mother fell ill with cancer, Yordis realized how patients’ bodies are exposed and are not given privacy with the gowns that are normally provided because of all the medical lines and appliances. She created this really cool set of medical pajamas that are covered with buttons and snaps for any type of medical equipment.
Sharon Dopak created an app for staffing agencies. Frustrated with the nurse staffing industry’s ability to adopt smart phone technology, Sharon created an app to allow agencies to let nurses know of available nurses. Nurses simply need to only swipe right if they want that shift. I believe this technology is brilliant and will have a lot of uses in the future.
Amy Wenham devised a way to sync a pillbox with smart phone technology that allows families to see if their elderly loved ones have taken their medication(s). If a box was locked, it would open at the approved time and then relock after one hour. If the meds were not taken, this prevents overdoses and allows the family to know when their loved ones are not taking their meds and can be given a gentle reminder.
Karen Kearsley, who created the Keysie, which is somewhat of a key chain that helps people to locate their keys. As long as the little device is attached, people will never lose their keys.
The winner of this year’s competition is Laura Futrell who created patientlearningcenter.com. She worked with a plastic surgeon and explained the ins and outs of breast cancer reconstruction. However, she didn’t have time to do proper education which left patients confused, overwhelmed, scared and at the mercy of their doctors. Laura empowers women through the Patient Learning Center in giving the most up-to-date interactive education online where they can watch from the privacy of their own home, to help them to be an advocate for their own choices.
I applaud the creativity and genius of each and every one of these nurses. They are seeing a need and then figuring out a solution. I frequently say that I believe nurses have answers to all the problems of health care but are neither asked nor listened to.
It’s time for you nurses to share your brilliant ideas and let your genius shine! Yes, your ideas can help so many people.
Share your ideas with us in the comments below.
