In the ever-evolving field of healthcare, maintaining the highest standards of patient safety is a top priority. When I worked in the hospital, nurses were always innovating ways to improve patient care. Yet, as a progressive care nurse, I often felt we needed to do better. It was the challenges of caring for patients with seizure disorders that pushed me to seek better solutions for patient care.
In most hospital facilities, patients on seizure precautions need to be placed in beds with padded railings using seizure pads. However, healthcare staff often rely on readily available materials such as blankets, tape and mesh panties as makeshift seizure pads. While these efforts are a testament to the dedication of nurses and other clinicians to keep patients safe using the resources at hand, these methods are outdated and may come with significant risks and inefficiencies. That is why my nurse colleague, Joey, and I explored more effective and reliable alternatives that ensure safety without compromising quality of care.
Reliance on Makeshift Materials
As healthcare clinicians, we often use readily available materials to improvise necessary medical supplies. This practice is not out of preference but necessity, highlighting a gap in our resource provision. Materials such as blankets and tape are not explicitly designed for seizure safety and often fall short of providing adequate protection.
When I first encountered the blankets-and-tape workaround at a rural community hospital in California, I assumed the hospital's lack of resources was at fault. However, it wasn't until I began working at a well-resourced, award-winning hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area that I realized using blankets to pad bedrails was a widespread problem. When I asked a colleague where the seizure pads were stored, I was told, "We don't have any. Go to the linen cart." At that moment, I realized it was a practice problem, not a money problem. Sharing my frustrations with Joey on a night shift, we immediately bonded and set out to solve this problem once and for all.
Linens and tape can be costly vectors
Using non-specialized materials such as blankets and tape can lead to cross-contamination risks, including the potential for harboring pathogens, which raises the risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Moreover, these materials demand frequent changes and extensive laundering, leading to potentially increased operational costs and environmental burden.
Barriers to Patient Safety
As nurses, we saw that the ad-hoc nature of these materials makes them impractical and unsafe. They can obstruct quick access to bed controls, which is crucial in emergencies, potentially delaying necessary adjustments or the administration of urgent care. This situation can compromise patient safety and lead to adverse outcomes. Additionally, using nonstandardized materials leads to inconsistent practices within and across healthcare facilities, complicating training and compliance with best practices.
Innovating Specialized Seizure Precaution Solutions
This bond over seizure pads, or the lack thereof, led us on our journey to create a new patient safety solution for patients on seizure precautions. We advocate for healthcare facilities to consider specialized solutions designed expressly for seizure precautions.
Are you a nurse innovator?
Have you ever had a "nurse hack" that helped make your patient care more efficient or effective? If yes, you may be a nurse innovator.
Every nurse can be an innovator. Johnson & Johnson's "Innovation 101" recommends that nurse innovators have the following skills:
- Divergent thinking
- Teamwork
- Collaboration
- Risk-taking
- Business strategy
Most nurses have most of those skills already. Then it becomes a matter of honing them.
Intellectual property: Who owns my idea?
As a nurse innovator, you might have a brilliant idea for a new patient care device, a more efficient charting system, or a novel approach to wound care. While your first instinct might be to develop it in your hospital, especially if it leverages hospital resources, you might consider pursuing it independently. Protecting your intellectual property (IP) is paramount in either scenario. If you choose to work on your idea outside the organization, meticulously document all work done on your own time, using your own resources. This documentation, including dated notebooks, sketches and prototypes, can be crucial in establishing your ownership of the IP should any questions arise later.
However, many hospitals, particularly academic medical centers, recognize the value of nurse-driven innovation and offer support for intrapreneurship. They may provide resources such as connections to IP lawyers who can advise you on patents or licensing, and access to 3D designers or rapid prototyping facilities. This support allows you to develop your idea while potentially retaining some ownership or sharing in any resulting royalties, and often with the hospital as a partner.
The path you choose - independent development versus working with your institution - depends on your personal goals. Do you envision yourself as an entrepreneur, taking on the risks and rewards of independent development? Or are you more inclined toward intrapreneurship, leveraging the resources and support of your hospital to bring your innovation to life while potentially sharing the benefits? Carefully weigh your options, considering the resources available to you, your comfort level with risk and your long-term vision for your innovation.
Growing as a Nurse Innovator
Nurse-led innovation is a huge field. It can be overwhelming to consider how to get started. Here are some resources to check out if you are interested in growing as a nurse innovator:
- AACN Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy
- American Nurses Association (ANA) Innovation Guide
- Johnson & Johnson Innovation Guide
- "The Innovation Handbook: A Nurse Leader's Guide to Transforming Nursing"
- Dr. Dan Weberg's Innovation Resources
- Penn Nursing from University of Pennsylvania: Innovation Resources
Already a nurse innovator? Explore these resources:
- ANA Innovation Awards
- Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Program
- Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship
- Society of Nurses Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders (SONSIEL)
Innovation is key to healthcare's future
Healthcare must move beyond outdated and potentially risky practices such as using blankets and tape as seizure pads. Embracing innovative, specialized solutions designed specifically for this purpose is crucial to improve patient safety and enhance operational efficiency and sustainability in healthcare practices. As our industry advances, it is imperative that our patient care practices evolve accordingly to ensure the highest standards of safety and care. As nurses, let's be the innovators who lead the future of patient care.
How can nurses further innovate to improve patient safety measures?
Special Acknowledgement
I acknowledge and thank my co-author, Joey Ferry, BSN, RN, co-founder of our company, which we created to reinvent seizure pads. Joey, a visionary creator dedicated to improving patient care and empowering frontline nurses through creative solutions and technology, contributed to the development of this blog.
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